Like Father, Like Son
by Rainfox88
Summary: Post RE6. Chris gathers everyone to start hunting down the Family, as they run Neo-Umbrella. As global outbreaks start subsiding, Jake shows up to see Sherry and talk to Chris. In an attack from the Family, Jake is injected with the same virus his father had. And it's not long when the new leader of the Family shows himself. Jake faces his father, risking everything. SPOILERS RE6!
1. Prologue

**Like Father, Like Son**

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**A Resident Evil fanfiction by Rainfox88**

**Rating: **M for all content and themes

**Pairings: **JakexSherry, ChrisxJill, LeonxClaire, some LeonxAda

**Genre: **Romance, Action/Adventure, Drama, Suspense

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Resident Evil or Capcom. All characters and storyline themes belong to them respectfully. This is merely a work of my imagination as a dedicated fan. Please do enjoy the story! **WARNING! This story contains SPOILERS for RESIDENT EVIL 6! If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read!**

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**Prologue**

He felt so hopeless to know that below the freshly covered grave sitting before the new granite headstone was an empty casket. He was responsible for his death. For his whole squad's death. How could he keep going like this?

The legendary Chris Redfield asked himself this over and over as he stood before Piers Nivans's grave. He was buried alongside the rest of Chris's squad, all of which also held empty caskets below. He failed all of them. He hadn't felt this lost since the years he thought Jill was dead.

Piers had been too young. He was special to Chris. He saw himself in the young sniper. And though they butted heads quite a bit, Piers had always been right. Chris was planning on turning in his gun after the events in Lanshiang. With hopes to see Piers take over his mantle and be the future in this everlasting war with bioterrorism. Chris couldn't be a soldier forever, but he knew now that he never was going to find someone with the talent and heart of Piers.

He wouldn't be retiring now, not until he made it up to Piers and to everyone else he let down by his failures and by hiding in the glooms of alcohol and despair for six months when so many needed him. He was so ashamed of himself for it. He purposely went to where Jill, Claire, and the others couldn't find him and wallowed in his failures. It was Piers who dedicated those six months of his life to find him and bring him back.

Chris heaved a sigh, closing his eyes. He put his hand on the headstone, praying to his fallen friend and comrade. _I'm so sorry, Piers. I'll make it up to you, I promise. I'll keep fighting until it's all over. I just want you to know that your sacrifice won't be in vain. You saved the world. And I will make sure everyone knows it._

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling some warmth return to his heart. He turned to face Jill, her face so beautiful in the evening rays. Her touch could always sooth his inner turmoil. She rubbed his back to comfort him. Chris still had a lot of making up to do with his own wife. He would never forgive himself for walking out on her and Claire. He and Jill got married just a year after they killed Wesker. It was part of the reason Chris wanted to turn in his gun. He and Jill were ready to start a family. And they were both ready to put their battle against bioterrorism behind them to start a new chapter in their life.

"I don't want to rush you, but Barry just called. Claire's flight got in about an hour ago. They are all waiting for us back at the reception."

He nodded slightly, registering her words. Two months had passed since the events in Lanshiang. The C-Virus vaccines were being distributed throughout the globe, and it seemed this nightmare was coming to a close ever so slowly. But it would be a long recovery for many countries, most notably China. It was only now that things were starting to settle that they could bury their fallen comrades or even get together to celebrate. They were having the gathering at Chris and Jill's house in the outskirts of Washington D.C. Chris had already been debriefed and released from the BSAA Headquarters Base and was granted leave for a few weeks. Jill got her leave as well, since she had mostly spent her time in the C-Virus outbreaks in South America.

Chris stepped away from Piers's grave, only to salute the headstone before he and Jill left the BSAA Military Cemetery. Jill had known the young BSAA soldier as well so she gave Chris the time and support he needed. As she drove them for home, she heard the words she was expecting from her husband.

"Piers was the one, Jill. He was going to be our future. And I failed him. It's all my fault he is dead, just like Finn and Marco and-"

Jill cut him off. "And if they could hear their captain now, they would be telling him to stop blaming himself. Chris, I knew all of your men. I knew they all were willing to die for this cause, especially Piers. And they wouldn't want their leader to take their sacrifices upon himself."

"They were my responsibility. They were my family! And I couldn't protect them. I can't protect anyone anymore." His sentenced ended with a rough sigh, and he looked out of the window to see the sun start to dip below the horizon.

The SUV Jill was driving suddenly was swerving to the side. Chris was startled by the sudden action as Jill pulled over and slammed on the breaks. She threw it into park and turned to glare at him. Her hair was no longer blonde, but was still long, hanging in a loose ponytail down to her shoulders. They were both still wearing their BSAA uniforms. Her sharp blue eyes caught his brown ones like magnets.

"That's not true! You are the reason we all have even got this far in this war since Raccoon City! You are the original founder of the BSAA! We all founded it together but it was your idea and you brought us together! Back before it was even funded and brought forth as the UN's official military on bioterrorism. And what about Wesker? Where would we be hadn't you stopped him?"

Chris grew quiet, lowering his eyes away from hers. She was always quick to defend him. As much as he loved her for it, it wouldn't bring Piers back.

"But Piers-"

"Wouldn't want you to torture yourself like this over his sacrifice. It was his decision. You couldn't stop him. Just…realize that he made it for you and for the world. Don't let it be in vain. The world still needs you, Chris. And Piers knew that."

Chris slowly nodded, finally looking up at Jill again. She was right. Piers wouldn't want him to be beating himself up over this. He still had a job to do. He was going to make sure that Piers's sacrifice wasn't in vain and keep fighting.

"Thanks, Jill."

She twitched a smile, nodding at him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Chris felt his heart skip at that kiss, and deeply responded to it. It had been eight months since husband and wife had seen each other for more than a short conversation a couple months ago when Chris was brought back into the world. Realizing this, Chris knew he had to make it up to Jill for everything.

She pulled back after the kiss, turning back to the wheel, but also smiling. "So, is my dear husband ready to see everyone now?"

Chris chuckled softly. "Yes, Mrs. Redfield."

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**A/N: This story is mostly going to focus on Jake and Sherry, as well as Wesker, but all characters play an important role to this. I wanted to set this up as a prologue for Chris, and as a small dedication to Piers, who I actually enjoyed so much as a character in Resident Evil 6. Too bad his introduction into this wonderful series was short lived. They couldn't have just killed Helena instead...lol sorry bad joke. Okay thank you reading and reviewing and I will definitely be updating this story shortly! :)**


	2. Chapter 1: Sherry's Welcoming

**Chapter 1: Sherry's Welcoming**

Sherry stood in the Oval Office, hands laced behind her back and her posture strong yet respectful. She had so much going through her mind; it was hard to listen as President Cal Reed spoke to her. Claire was in from New York, and she had planned to go see her over at Chris and Jill's house. In the aftermath of Lanshiang, she was finally able to wind down after submitting report upon report on Jake Wesker.

Cal Reed had been Benford's Vice President. He was younger than the deceased President, but Leon had assured her he was just as charismatic and good as his old friend Adam. Now acting as President, Reed had a lot put on his shoulders so suddenly. The man was in his late forties, with graying black hair and dark eyes that held a sense of justice like Benford.

As an FOS agent like Leon, it was her duty to report to the Chief Security Advisor, but Derek C. Simmons had been taken out of his title and permanently put in the ground. For now, she would have to settle with the reserved President Reed.

As she stood before him, he was speaking of her last mission and of Derek's true nature. He was commemorating her efforts in this global attack and taking hand in saving the world. But Sherry didn't want any awards. She knew the war was far from over, and she was eager to keep going.

"I would also like to inform you, Ms. Birkin, that the new Chief Security Advisor has been chosen. My agents will take you to greet him, and then you are free to leave. He will report you in for your next assignment should something come up."

Sherry dipped her head. "Yes Mr. President."

President Reed motioned with a nod to two of his Secret Service agents. Sherry left the Oval Office and started following them through the White House. They headed west down the Central Hall, and as they were nearing the Roosevelt Room, Sherry caught eye of a familiar person.

Helena Harper was being escorted towards the President. The two women stopped as they were about to pass each other.

"Helena? Are you back as a Secret Service agent?"

She nodded. "Yes. Thanks to Leon and Hunnigan. I think Cal also pulled some strings for me. We've been friends for a while. Oh I mean President Reed."

Sherry laughed softly. "I've never met him, but he seems very honorable. Leon said he's a lot like President Benford. Well, glad to see you doing well Helena. It's been a very hectic couple of months."

Helena snorted. "You said it. Take care, Sherry."

They parted ways and Sherry was taken into the Roosevelt Room. There was a man looking over some papers. He was standing near a desk, while flipping through the documents, but quickly caught sight of her as she entered with the agents.

Sherry studied him closely, wanting to see if she could read him. She felt ashamed that she couldn't see through Simmons, and was determined to make up for it had this man came off being anything like him.

His smile was genuine, and he dropped the papers onto the desk. He wore a dark blue suit, with a white undershirt, and a red tie. His posture came off as strong yet gentle as he walked over to her. He had golden blonde hair in a style similar to Leon's hair, and his deep green eyes shown intelligence far beyond his years. He seemed very young, maybe around Chris's age. That would be young for the position he had just taken over. He was definitely handsome, but Sherry remained suspicious.

"Ah Sherry Birkin. It is an honor. I am Evan Fox. I will be your new supervisor," he greeted. He extended his hand to her.

Sherry hesitated, but took his hand to shake it. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Please, just call me Evan. I was going through your reports on Jake Muller. I must say, your actions helped save this world. I'll make sure you get rewarded for your loyal services."

Sherry shook her head. "That's okay, sir. I don't need anything."

Evan chuckled. "You are humble, I like that. Well, no need to twist your arm. Here are some more papers I need you to sign. I apologize for it, as I know you have done enough paperwork to last a lifetime after this, but it must be done. President Reed informed me that you are leave for a break. If an assignment comes up, I will be contacting you."

He handed her a small briefcase. Sherry thinned her lips, taking the briefcase and groaning on the inside. She merely nodded her head at the new Chief Security Advisor. "I will be in touch, Mr. Fox."

She turned and left the Roosevelt Room, feeling his eyes on her until she was gone. He didn't come off as any kinds of suspicious, but then again, she never saw through Derek. Sherry didn't want to jump to conclusions. It was unfair to automatically be wary of Evan just because of Simmons. Then again, she would have rather been safe than sorry.

As she headed downstairs to the main lobby she caught sight of someone waiting. A smile instantly broke on her face, and she jumped the last few steps to run over to Leon.

"Leon! What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting on you. I knew you would be coming to see Claire as well, so thought I could give you a ride," Leon stated, smiling. "Here, let me take that for you."

He took the briefcase, and he hugged her before they left the White House. Sherry smiled up at him. He was always the gentleman. They walked to his Jeep, and got in. The Jeep started up with a low rumble, and the FOS Agents headed out.

Her cellphone chimed, signaling a text message. Sherry twitched a smile, pulling it from her pocket to look at it.

_Didn't take you one for politics, super girl._

She shook her head. Jake was replying to her text of her talking to the President. He knew it was part of her job, he was just being a smartass as always. They kept in touch after parting ways in the aftermath of Lanshiang. There was no way the two could just walk away from each other now, not after all they've been through together.

"Let me guess. Jake?" Leon asked.

Sherry snapped her head over to look at him, holding the phone up closer to her chest as if she thought Leon read her text. "Huh? How'd you know?"

Leon gave a small smirk. "You two have been through a lot together."

Sherry lowered her eyes, nodding. "Yes, we have."

"He sure is protective of you. I thought I was going to have to fight him after he shoved me away from you like that back at the plane crash."

Sherry twitched a smile. "I was just surprised as you."

"I can tell he has had a very rough life. But I can also tell that he really cared about you," Leon stated, glancing at her for only a moment before looking back to the road. "Still can't get over the fact that he's Wesker's son though."

"Well, I had no idea when I took the assignment, but while I was with him, I thought he looked and acted like someone familiar to me. It made sense once I found out."

"Did you ever tell him that his father and your father were partners back in the day? That you knew Wesker?" Leon inquired.

She lowered her eyes. "No. I didn't know how to go about it. I plan on telling him though…if we ever see each other again."

"Trust me. You will."

"Has Chris told everyone who Jake is?"

Leon shook his head. "I don't think so. He was the only one to have met and saw Jake besides us. He probably thinks no one would believe him anyway."

Sherry laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

They finally reached the large, brick house in the outskirts of D.C. There were already other vehicles parked in the large driveway. Sherry and Leon got out of his Jeep, and headed for the front door. Sherry made sure she had her phone on her, and grabbed the briefcase to take inside. As they walked up to the front door, Sherry turned to Leon.

"Have you met Evan Fox yet? The new Chief Security Advisor?"

Leon slowly dipped his head, not looking at her. "Yes."

"Did he seem trustworthy to you?"

There was a long pause before he answered. "No."

As Sherry felt that dread and disappointment fall over her, the front door opened and Claire was in the doorway with a smile on her face.

"Leon! Sherry! Get your asses in here!"

Leon motioned for Sherry to enter first, and she did with him following up the rear and shutting the front door. Sherry grinned upon seeing Claire. She hadn't seen her in over six months. The two women hugged, and then Claire grabbed ahold of Leon into another tight hug. Leon returned the hug, smiling. Claire kissed his cheek, and the three of them went to join the others in the big den.

Sherry caught sight of Chris with other BSAA members. Sherry didn't know anyone else, but Claire was quick to introduce her to them. They were all people she had heard of from Claire and Leon, so she was honored. Jill sat next to her husband on one couch while Barry Burton took up a recliner next to them. He had retired years ago, but still provided support and training to new troops. His red beard was graying like his head, but though he was getting up there in age, the burly man could still fight like a soldier. There was also Rebecca Chambers, Billy Coen, and Carlos Oliveira. Billy and Carlos were still in BSAA uniform, having just got back from fighting in China as well. Rebecca, dressed in a cute outfit, had her long hair pulled back into a red bandana. Sherry heard she was in charge of the medical and chemical operations within the BSAA.

Everyone greeted and welcomed her as if she had always been a part of the group. This big family of friends and soldiers who are all fighting for the same goal. Sherry felt honored by their acceptance. She sometimes worried about being judged because of her parents. She should have known better to hesitate at this group.

Sherry was upset to not see Piers here. She had heard he lost his life in the underwater facility. He sacrificed himself to save Chris and the world. It was heartbreaking, because Sherry saw so much good in him. He was her age, and had died too young. She could tell that Chris was a little down, but the support of his friends and family were bringing him out. He was starting to realize that Piers would want him to celebrate this victory.

"Chris, I have some Intel for you," Leon said, walking over to the captain and extending his hand. It held a USB stick.

"From who?"

"Ada."

The name made his eyes flash, and he looked up at Leon. "Ada?!"

"The real Ada Wong. The woman who killed your squad was actually a woman named Carla Radames. It's all on there. Derek turned her into some sort of Ada clone. Had I have known this sooner, then we could have stopped her when Helena and I showed up and we fought. I'm sorry, Chris."

Chris took the memory stick, studying Leon for a moment. He then nodded his head. "Okay. I'll look at this. Get it turned in. Maybe we can help clear the real Ada's name then."

Leon twitched a smile. "She's already taken care of all that. She just wanted you to know the truth. Consider it her own apology."

"Understood." Chris then looked over to see Sherry. "How are you doing, Sherry?"

"I'm good, thank you. I'm sorry about Piers. Jake and I should have stayed and fight. We could have-"

"Nonsense. The two of you had to save the world," Chris defended. "It was vital Jake got out alive. I was willing to give my life for him. And so was Piers."

Sherry lowered her eyes. "I understand."

Claire came over, handing Sherry a small glass of wine. She also gave one to Leon, who took it gratefully. Claire raised her glass, looking solemnly at her brother.

"To Piers Nivans. He made the ultimate sacrifice to help save this world. He saved my brother. Because he knew just as well as we all do that Chris is still needed in this world."

Everyone else followed her lead, raising their glasses and toasting the young, heroic soldier. Afterwards, the group settled down to visit. Chris spoke a lot of Piers that night while Sherry and Leon got caught up with Claire. She was still working with TerraSave. The organization was really busy with cleaning up the C-Virus outbreaks across the globe, mostly China. It was only Claire's high, important position within the organization that allowed her to have some time off to visit everyone.

Later that night, when it was only Chris, Jill, Leon, Claire, and herself left at the house, she got a text message from Jake. She answered her phone to read it to herself.

_So I found out that I was actually born in the States. My mother just left for Edonia right after that. Maybe I shouldn't hate on Uncle Sam so much then._

She typed back a response. _Considering both of your parents were a part of this country too. Does this mean you will be visiting the US anytime soon?_

It took only a minute to get his answer. And it made her smile and shake her head. _…Maybe…_

His next text came soon after. _By the way, I officially changed my last name to Wesker. No use in hiding anymore. Besides…maybe I can change the views on that name._

She frowned. Openly letting his true last name out to the public could be fatal on his part. It was the reason she, Chris, and the BSAA went through the hard work of getting his relationship to Albert Wesker as classified. For the purpose of global security and Jake's own protection. But it wasn't as though they could stop him from doing it. She just had to trust him, and hope and pray extra for his well-being.

Another chime came from her phone. _You are frowning. I just know it._

Even through texts he teased her nonstop. He got some sort of twisted pleasure out of it. It aggravated her at times, while other times, she just knew it was his way for showing concern for her.

_I'm just worried that you could be put in danger from doing that, is all._

"Still texting Jake, I see," Leon chuckled.

"I was going to ask if you were going to tell me about him, and your first assignment," Claire stated, smiling as she sat next to Leon.

Hearing Jake's name caught Chris's attention. He studied Sherry for a moment before lowering his eyes. Sherry wondered if Chris was going to tell the others who Jake really was. Maybe he figured there would be no use. She didn't want to announce it if he wasn't going to.

Her phone chimed again, making Leon and Claire's smiles widening. She didn't like how they were grinning at her. It made her cheeks redden, but she looked at the text anyway.

_Thank you for caring, super girl._

She smiled at the text. He would never stop calling her that. His nickname to her would stick forever, she was sure of it. Then again, she wasn't complaining.

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**A/N: And there is Chapter 1! I've been working on this for a couple of days before posting it so a little ahead for once lol. Chapter 2 is almost done and should be posted tomorrow. Short chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews for the Prologue! Have a good, chilly day my friends! Well, I'm having a chilly day lol. ;)**


	3. Chapter 2: Secrets to the Grave

**Chapter 2: Secrets to the Grave**

The red Yamaha YZF R1 sped through the streets at high speeds, the roar of the engine echoing in its wake. Cars whipped by in crowded streets, but the motorcycle weaved through them with graceful ease.

Jake thought Washington D.C was anything but pretty. He barely had a sense of direction on where he was going, relying on the GPS of his phone to guide him. The son of Albert Wesker had been in the United States for just over twenty-four hours, and in the capital city for less than five hours. He was already disgusted with the crowds of people and traffic. Then again, he wasn't here as a tourist.

He wore dark cargo pants with a black shirt, with the same old boots that had carried him through many missions. It was the type of apparel he was used to wearing from days as a mercenary, and not one he would grow out of all too soon.

With the sky having no trace of a cloud, and the sun blazing down on the bustling city, Jake wore sunglasses to ease the glare. He tried to not get overzealous over his speed. He didn't exactly want to get pulled over so soon to arriving in the States.

He came to stop at a red light. He took the time to check his phone. He was heading in the right direction, but still had a ways to go. He wasn't even quite out of the city yet, and the sooner the better for him. As he sat on his bike, he also noticed he received a text from Sherry.

_Are you sure you thought that_ _through hard enough?_

He snorted. She was referring to his decision to go ahead and change his last name to Wesker. To him, there was no use in hiding it. The Family already knew who he was. Who was there to stop them from informing anyone else? After all their experiments on him while he and Sherry were under house arrest in China, Jake was sure there was nothing worse they could do. And he had to accept Albert Wesker as his father, whether he liked it or not.

In all aspects, he knew Sherry was right. It was a mistake, especially so soon. But Jake thought differently from her in many ways. And in this particular discussion, he only shrugged it off as unavoidable in the long run, so why hide who he really was?

The red light changed, and Jake slammed on it, doing a small wheelie as he took off for his destination once more. He was getting to the outskirts of the city, and from there the suburbs. Hopefully, traffic would become better the farther he drove.

Sherry had no idea he was in the States, even as she texted him last night. As much as he wanted to see the look on her face when he showed up without a notice, he knew he had some business to take care of first. He was going to find Chris Redfield and settle their dispute. He heaved a sigh, feeling his nerves get the best of him. He had mixed emotions against the man who killed his father.

Sherry had begged him to talk to Chris, and not down the barrel of a gun. She was right. It wasn't as though his father was killed for no good reason. He knew that his father had been crazy and evil. He just didn't want to admit that Chris had done the right thing. The only thing Jake could understand why he was so upset, was that Wesker was still his father. No matter what. Maybe he had wanted to meet his father. Get answers from him that his mother never answered. Maybe he had wanted to beat his father senseless for his apparent abandonment and making his mother suffer for so many years.

He shook the thoughts from his head. He was here for the truth. He knew Chris Redfield would give it to him, whether he was ready to hear it or not. Jake was determined not to become his father. In order to do that, he needed to know everything. And so that was where the GPS was guiding him, to the BSAA Captain's house. Sherry would have to wait for now.

Since he and Sherry had parted ways, he had continued to fight. It was strange not having her with him in a fight. His old habits tried to convince him that he needed to be alone, and to only survive alone, but he and Sherry had been through so much together. His rough life growing up, and betrayal after betrayal had caused him to become a man that only trusted himself and cold, hard cash. Cash that he never needed for himself. The only reason he had become a mercenary was for his mother, who needed the money for her ever present sickness, and they had always been dirt poor. But not long after he became a soldier of fortune at fifteen, eager to help his mother, she passed away on him. He still fought for that money that he no longer needed until he met Sherry.

It was bad enough his mother passed away on him, but the man who trained him how to fight and how to survive had become a father figure to him. He was the leader of their mercenary group by the name of Rurik, but everyone had simply called him Mr. Death. Jake was in no place to learn what he should have known about the man, but he ended up being a double agent and betrayed the whole unit. Rurik had returned with his true employers wearing a strange battle suit and a gas mask. Jake was the only one to survive, and it was how he got the scar on his face, from his own mentor. So while one wound was already having trouble healing, this one came along and almost made Jake go completely numb. After that, he never trusted anyone again other than himself and money. Why show trust or compassion when you were just going to get betrayed?

That was his mentality for the longest time. His fellow mercenaries only thought he was moody and distant, but they never knew the whole story. But Sherry had changed all that. She made him feel like a human being again, something he hadn't felt since he and his mother. Jake felt so revitalized being able to put trust into another person, and one he had come to care for deeply. Sherry hadn't just saved his life, she saved _him_. Realizing it now, had he stayed on the path he was on before her, he would have become a man much like his father had been.

He had told Sherry this after they killed Ustanak once and for all. All he said to her was that she saved him. He had meant his soul, and he was sure she understood what he meant.

In the time it took him to drive all the way out to the suburbs, in the nicer neighborhoods, Jake had thought much about Sherry, and even his own mother. He had so many questions that he wanted her to answer, but she had taken them to the grave. And for what reason, Jake would never know.

He had finally arrived, pulling the bike into lower gear as he slowed down. He looked at the house as he pulled in. Big and fancy where the first two words to come to mind, and he snorted. Should've known better. Many of the houses looked quite similar within the peaceful, nice neighborhood.

Jake shook his head, slightly smirking as he turned off his bike and got off. _What's wrong Redfield? No originality?_

It was a harmless quip. He knew Redfield was the kind of man who only thought of houses as shelter. He had much more important things on his mind, much bigger than how nice his house or lawn was.

He pocketed his keys and cellphone. He walked over to the front door, glancing all around him for a moment. It was quiet mostly. He could hear kids laughing and a dog barking down the street.

He hesitated upon knocking. He knew this was something he had to do. It didn't make it all that easy though. He cursed at himself, feeling like he was being a coward, but knowing it was the dread of knowing the truth that he was scared of. He tapped on the door a few times and then waited.

_You better be right about this, super girl…_

He knew Sherry was right. It wasn't going to make it any more enjoyable though. The door was opening within a minute, and so Jake gathered himself.

A woman answered the door. She had to have been in her thirties, and was beautiful. She had gray-blue eyes that beheld him with caution, her lips thinning. She was wearing a light blue blouse and white pants. Her long brown hair was up in a messy bun. The way she was looking at him, as if he had come off as a suspicious figure was enough to aggravate him. Jake reframed from make a snide comment to her obvious look of vigilance and pulled off his sunglasses.

She was actually looking at him very similar in the way that Chris had when they first met. She obviously wasn't expecting a total stranger at her door, but her look made him realize that maybe she had known his father as well, and had noticed his appearance like Chris had.

"Can I help you?" she asked, still trying to figure out what it was about him that unsettled her.

"Yeah, I came to have a chat with Redfield," he answered with a bit more edge than he meant.

"Who are you?"

"Jake. I'm the guy with the C-Virus antibodies."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she moved away to let him inside. She led him deeper into the house where Jake found Chris at the bar in the kitchen finishing up some paperwork. He was wearing casual clothing, a green shirt with khaki cargo pants. His face was neglected of a fresh shave, so stubble still remained on his handsome face. Jake also noticed the scar on Chris's cheek from where his bullet had scathed down in the underwater facility in their heated discussion over his father. There was another woman with him, younger with reddish brown hair that was up in a messy ponytail. She wore jeans, as well as a white shirt with a dark pink vest.

"Chris. You have someone here to see you."

Chris looked up as well as the younger woman. Chris's eyes flashed upon seeing Jake, and he quickly straightened up. The woman who answered the door walked over to them. Jake didn't know who the women were, but looking at the younger one, he was sure that she was Claire just by her similarities to Chris and by how Sherry described her. The older woman had to be Chris's wife.

"Expecting someone else?" Jake snorted.

"Jake…well yes. I wasn't expecting you to be in the States."

"I told you our little talk wasn't over. I want some answers."

"Excuse me?" the woman who answered the door hissed, as if she didn't like his attitude. "Who do you think-"

"Jill, it's alright." Chris sighed, walking over to Jake. He turned to the women. The younger woman and Jill beheld Jake with strong looks, as if they were trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Jill, Claire…this is Jake. He had the antibodies for the C-Virus. He's the reason we are all still here."

"So you are the one who worked with Sherry?" Claire asked, moving forward.

Hearing Sherry's name caught his attention, and he nodded. "Yep, that would be moi."

Claire slightly smiled at him, and Jake remembered that Claire was also the reason Sherry made it out of Raccoon City as well as Leon. He could tell why Sherry was the way she was, she grew up taking after Claire's example.

Chris scratched his neck, looking nervous or unsure for some reason. "Jake is…Jake is Wesker's son."

Seeing how the color drained from Jill and Claire's face told Jake that his father had to have been on bad terms with more than just Chris. It made him clench his jaw, biting back a retort that had suddenly wanted to be blurted out.

"I thought there was something about him," Jill stated.

"Wow, that's irony for you," Claire said, actually twitching a smile surprisingly.

Chris weakly smiled. "Piers said the same thing."

"Sherry made me promise to talk to you without pointing a gun at your face, so here I am."

Chris dipped his head at Jake. "I guess I'll thank her later then. Does she know you are here?"

"No, and I hope to keep it that way."

"So, you aren't going to see her after all you two have been through?" Claire asked, sounding defensive against Sherry.

Jake smirked. "Relax, it's supposed to be a surprise. So if you three know how to keep secrets, which I know Chris here does, then I would appreciate it."

Chris pointed towards the glass doors in the kitchen that led to the outside to the backyard. "If you think you are ready to hear what you want to know, then let's go talk."

"Ready as I'll ever be," Jake replied, his tone almost bitter. He headed for the doors and left outside on his own, leaving Chris with the girls.

"But Chris, don't you think-"

Chris interrupted Jill. "It's alright. This is something I can handle. Jake deserves to know."

"He seems to be a real handful," Claire quipped.

"Well, we wouldn't want Wesker's son to be easy, that just wouldn't feel right," Chris snorted sarcastically, heading for the door. He exited as well, leaving Jill and Claire with their uncertainties.

The backyard was large and fully surrounded with a privacy fence. There was a deck off from the glass doors that led down to a stylish patio surrounded by artful landscaping. Jake was sitting down at the patio, staring at nothing and deep in thought. Chris walked for him, glancing back and seeing Claire and Jill watching from the glass doors. Sighing, he reached Jake and sat down opposite of him.

Jake came out of his thoughts and glared at him. The glare didn't last long, and Chris soon found the young man lowering his eyes to his hands. Chris was silent at first, trying to figure out what all he should say and how he should say it.

"Spare me the G-rated version, Redfield. Just spill it," Jake growled.

Chris saw a troubled kid in those eyes, a young man that had spent much of his life against animosity. Jake's attitude and temper were all just defense mechanisms. Sherry had just started to melt those cold defenses, but Chris could see it just faintly. How he saw him with Sherry back in Edonia and in Lanshiang, he could tell that Jake cared deeply for Sherry. If this was the case, then Chris knew that Jake could slowly have faith in people restored.

"Alright," Chris answered. "Back in Raccoon City, Jill and I were members of STARS. Albert Wesker was our Captain. I looked up to him in those days. I was young. But the truth of the matter was…he was working for Umbrella. His place within STARS was only for counterintelligence to keep anyone from finding out Umbrella's true motives. Well, when the grisly murders started to happen in the mountains, we sent Bravo Team in to check it out. They never reported back so we went in. We discovered a mansion, and within its walls we discovered the truth of Umbrella. Wesker had set us up to be guinea pigs against the new BOWs. We lost many friends that night. We managed to corner him in the underground labs.

He released the Tyrant, a very powerful BOW on us, and it killed him. We were able to destroy it and escape before the whole mansion exploded, but a couple months later when I was trying to rescue Claire at Rockfort Island, he was there, alive and well. Claire had been captured by Umbrella, and Wesker attacked the island and released an outbreak. It was here I noticed he was no longer human. He had injected himself with an unknown virus before being killed that night. It gave him superhuman strength and speed. He almost killed Claire and me, but we managed to escape.

After that, he became a ghost for a while, but was the shadow behind many other attacks. I never gave up searching; I knew he had to be stopped. I wasn't the only one. I formed the BSAA with many others. All the while, Wesker was sending in agents to steal several types of viruses and we could never locate him."

Chris watched Jake closely as he told his story. His nemesis's son had his jaw clenched hard, eyes staring down at his tight fists. Chris wondered if he should ask Jake if he was okay, but then thought better of it.

"Well, Jill and I finally got the whereabouts to Ozwell E. Spencer, the leader of Umbrella, hoping he could lead us to Wesker. He was hiding in an old mansion in Europe ever since Umbrella's collapse. By the time we arrived and found Spencer, he was already dead. Wesker killed him and he was waiting for us.

I had thought this was my chance to end him once and for all. To finally give so many friends the peace they deserved for his betrayal, but I was wrong. He almost killed me. There was no way we could beat him with his powers. The only thing that saved my life was Jill sacrificing herself. She tackled him and they went through the window falling to the gorge below. Their bodies were never found. I knew Jill had to have been dead, but I wasn't going to put it passed Wesker. He had died many times and come back.

I…lived in despair for a few years after thinking Jill was dead. I almost gave up on everything, but then I was given a mission to go after Tricell in Africa. Little did I know that Wesker was there, running the show. He had kept Jill alive that whole time and turned her into a mindless puppet. So not only did I have to fight him but I had to fight my partner, the love of my life. I was able to free her with my current partner, a woman named Sheva, and get her to safety. We went after Wesker, and then I learned what he was planning. He was going to shoot missiles into the atmosphere and release Uroboros. It would have destroyed the world. Everyone would have died. Wesker always told me he wasn't trying to destroy the world, he was trying to save it. But he had long since lost human thought and considered himself a god. So…I did what I had to, to keep this world safe. I killed him once and for all, and prevented the global attack."

Jake remained quiet. He was stiff, and his eyes were shut. He looked completely disgusted. Chris felt sorry for the young man, and he looked away for a moment.

"So yeah…when you asked me if I was just following orders or if it was personal…it was both."

"Goddamn it, why me?" Jake hissed, slamming his fist down on the table.

Chris took a deep breath. "You aren't your father."

"Are you sure?" Jake snapped. "Crazy has to run in the family. I know some things had to be passed down to me. Maybe this is why I feel I need to alienate myself. It's so I know I won't hurt anyone…like Sherry."

Jake had remembered back in that locker room in China what Sherry had told him. When he was saying the same words that he had to be just like his father for the things he had done and it started to make sense to him. She told him he could blame his father all he wanted to, but at some point he needed to take responsibility for his own actions. She had seemed hurt and angry when she said that. But he understood why. He had thrown the same words to compare her to her own father.

_You really think that crazy doesn't run in the family? That nothing of who my father was didn't somehow get passed on down to me? You of all people should know that's true. _His words to her echoed in his head, and he thinned his lips. He wasn't well known for picking his words correctly.

"Look Jake, if there is anyone who really knows Wesker, it's me. And though you carry much of his traits very dominantly, I can assure you, that you are not like him in the sense of being pure evil. I know you have a heart, and Sherry has told us about it."

"Pure evil, huh?" Jake snorted. "How does a person become 'pure evil'?"

Chris sighed, knowing where this was going. "Many ways. Your father was a part of a project called the Wesker Project within Umbrella. They were all children with great genetics and intelligence. All for the plan of what Wesker turned into. He was the only one who survived. I have no idea how he was raised or what his history was. I just know that he had the talents needed for good, and for some reason he took it upon himself for his own selfish reasons to abuse his gift and make this world suffer."

"So, what do you think of all this irony? With me here as your sworn enemy's son?" Jake asked.

"It's not irony."

"Then what is it?" Jake narrowed his eyes.

"It's fate."

The words took Jake by surprise, and he lowered his eyes away from Chris. Chris slowly rose from his seat, and Jake hesitated before rising with him.

"There's nothing you can do to change the fact that Wesker is your father, but I know you have what it takes not to be like him."

Jake took in Chris's sincere words, and slowly nodded. "Thanks."

"Follow me. I want to show you something," Chris stated.

Jake followed him back into the house, watching as Claire and Jill moved away from the glass doors, as if to make it look like they weren't spying on them. The men entered the house, only for Claire and Jill to watch Jake some more as Chris took him into a study room down the hallway. It was full of old equipment, from guns and trinkets to files and pictures. Chris rummaged through some old files looking to pertain to the BSAA. He pulled out a document within a folder labeled Kijuju. There was a picture of a man, and Chris handed it over to Jake.

"In case you have never seen him."

Jake looked from Chris down to the open folder. The hair on the back of his neck stood up at the sight. The resemblance was definitely there, but he could see the darkness even in the picture. His father came off as looking very intimidating yet very charismatic. Jake had killed people before, but looking at his father he knew he was looking at a cold stone killer who didn't think twice about it.

It made him think of his mother. How did she get caught up with a man like this? It didn't suit her at all. His mother was kind and generous, always thinking of others before herself. She had this gentleness that could settle any turmoil and a voice that would make you forget all the evils of the world. Yet she spoke so highly of his father, making Jake think he was just a deadbeat who skipped out on them. Did his mother just not know his true nature? He was confused.

He handed the folder back, the image burnt into his mind. Chris took it that he had seen enough; though he left it open for the kid. "I have many documents and pictures on him and many other things in my time with BSAA, and some leftover from Raccoon. You are welcome to look if you ever want to."

"Thanks, but I think I've seen enough. I just…don't understand how my mother got wrapped up with a man…like him."

"I was wondering the same thing. I was going to ask you if your mother ever told you anything."

Jake shook his head. "No. She was always sick. She left the States after I was born. I know nothing of her past before then either."

"What was her name?"

"Laura Muller."

"Hmm, well I don't know if I can provide you answers with that."

Jake looked away, gritting his teeth. "Why would she take them to the grave?"

Chris was sure the question was directed at Jake himself, so didn't answer right away. Jake shook out of his frustrated thoughts, and heaved a sigh.

"Maybe she was protecting you."

Chris's words made Jake snort. "Yeah…maybe."

They left the room to rejoin Jill and Claire in the den. Jake knew that he should take his leave. He got his answers. There was no sense staying. Especially since it seemed he put Claire and Jill on edge because of his lineage. Besides, he wanted to clear his head before he went to see Sherry.

"You are welcome to stay and visit, Jake," Chris said, noticing Jake's restlessness. "And just remember if you ever have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my best to help you."

"I don't need your help," Jake snapped, turning for the door. He took a step or two before suddenly stopping. He heaved a sigh, closing his eyes. He turned to face them again. "Sorry, I just…I'm a little frustrated and confused taking in all of this. I really appreciate it…Chris. Sherry was right. It was better talking to you without a gun. And I'm…sorry."

Chris studied him for a moment, and smiled softly. "I understand. I hope I gave you the answers you were looking for."

"Who looks forward to finding out their father was a fucking crazy bastard who wanted to destroy the world?"

"True. I'm sorry, Jake. I wish it had been different."

"No, you did what you had to. Thank you for telling me the truth," Jake said. He went to leave but hesitated once again. He kept his eyes down. "And I'm sorry for what my father did to all of you."

Jill surprisingly broke in. "You don't have to apologize for your father's actions. You aren't responsible for them."

"You are your own person," Claire added.

Jake twitched a smirk. "Yeah, and I'm gonna make sure it stays that way."

He went to leave, but was stopped by Claire. "Are you going to see Sherry?"

"Yes." He smiled again, blue eyes flashing mischievously. "So let's keep it hush-hush."

He left the Redfield residence without another word, getting onto his bike and putting on his shades before speeding off. He knew a ride at high speeds would help clear his head before going to surprise Sherry. He hated to admit that he was left with more questions rather than answers after his discussion with Chris. But the people who could answer them were dead. His mother obviously took them to the grave for whatever reason, and Jake had no idea what his father would answer. All in all, he was left with a bad feeling about it. Like something wasn't adding up about his past.

Jake let the thoughts slip away. It wasn't as though they were ever going to get answered, so it was best to forget about them. Besides, he wanted a cleared head when he saw Sherry. There was no use having frets over something he had no control over, and Sherry was more important anyway.

Slowing down to a stop on his bike at a stop sign within the large neighborhood, Jake sent a quick text to get the meeting place set up. She would have no idea, and he couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

_Let's just hope you take the bait, super girl. _But he knew she would. He smirked. She trusted Leon after all.

* * *

**A/N: I had decided to rewrite this chapter is the reason it took a bit longer to upload. I got many plans for this story and more ideas just keep hitting me in the face lol! Yes, Jake's mentor was HUNK and he will be playing an important role in this story. Obviously, I just came up with that idea, so I guess I should note that this story is a slight AU. :P**** Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far, and glad to hear many of you are excited for this story. I hope I can make it worthwhile for all of you guys, thanks! :) I just really enjoyed RE6, Capcom really outdid themselves with it. The gameplay is awesome, and of course the storyline and characters are always top notch. I still miss Wesker though!**

**Also, I have been getting PMs asking if I have decided on LeonxClaire or LeonxAda for this story, and no I have not. So, I'll let my readers, you the awesome people out there, vote on it. I like both pairings so it doesn't bother me, I just tend to write more LeonxClaire stories because I love to pair AdaxWesker lol.**

**Thanks again for all the faves/alerts/reviews and it is oh so good to be back! I also have a parody fic on RE6 in the making! ;)**


	4. Chapter 3: Reunion

**Chapter 3: Reunion**

Being stuck at the White House all day hadn't been in Sherry's plans, but the next morning when she returned to give Evan Fox the rest of her documents, she got volunteered for more desk work. She wasn't thrilled or surprised. There was still a lot of work to do revolving around the global threat that was slowly subsiding. There were small outbreaks being quarantined in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

The BSAA were handling most of it but it would still be months before global security would even start to settle down. As Sherry worked, a television hanging up in the corner of the room played the news. It showed footage of the leftovers of Tall Oaks, and to Sherry and Leon it reminded them very much of the remains of Raccoon City after the bombing. The news also spoke of President Benford and his assassination, as well as the other global outbreaks.

Though Leon's suspicion of Evan Fox put Sherry on edge, there was no way the young FOS agent could avoid him all day. At least she wasn't alone. Throughout the day she would cross paths with Leon, Helena, or Hunnigan, all of which were mostly working with President Reed today.

Luckily, she remained busy enough to be able to get out of feeling trapped with the new Chief Security Advisor. It hindered her ability to text Jake as well. She had only been able to send him one text since she arrived to work.

Sherry decided to take a breather. She turned the volume down on the television, knowing she had heard enough for the day. She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her blue eyes from the ache of staring at a laptop all day. She was dressed in a simple outfit, only because she didn't know she was going to be staying all day to work when she arrived early this morning. She wore white pants with some tennis shoes as well as a white kami underneath a dark blue blouse.

She checked the time on her cellphone. Sherry knew she was almost done, and wondered if Leon was finishing up. She was going to ride with him back to Chris's house. Then again, if he wasn't going to be done for a while, it would probably be a taxi or the subway for her. She had left her car at her apartment, only because Leon offered her a ride because they were going to go the same place after work anyway.

Sighing, she decided to gather all the papers into a stack quickly to take to Evan. She could finish up with him and then go talk to Leon directly. As she was flipping through them, trying to organize the files in their folders, she nicked herself on the corner of a sheet.

The sting quickly turned into a paper cut, with blood coming to the surface, bright and fresh. Sherry grumbled at it, not because of the cut itself, but the mess it made on one of the documents. With a wipe from a nearby tissue paper, the cut had already healed itself shut.

"That's a unique ability."

The familiar charismatic voice made her jump, and she turned to see Evan Fox walking over to her.

"Oh…I assumed you already read my profile, Mr. Fox."

He lightly chuckled. "I did, but to see it in person is a whole new aspect. And it is the result of the G-Virus adapting into your body, yes?"

Sherry barely nodded. She never really enjoyed talking about it. All it reminded her of was her parents and Raccoon City. Even though she was given the vaccine, the virus mutated within her body, giving her this ability as well as slowed down her aging a bit. The only thing Sherry was proud of it for was for the fact her blood with this unique adaption enabled the Global Pharmaceutical Consortium to create the cure to the G-Virus. Just like Jill Valentine's immunity to the T-Virus from her close call in Raccoon City produced the T-Virus vaccine.

Sherry may have been kept and used as an experiment by the government for years because of her mutation, but she was happy to see that she was able to demolish her own father's evil creation.

"Yes sir. I've been like this since the Raccoon City incident."

"It's good to see you turning right what your parents did wrong."

Sherry thinned her lips, quiet for a moment and not looking at him. "Thank you sir."

He must have read her insecurity. "Do not misconstrue my praise for pity, dear girl. You cannot be judged for your father's crimes and yet you take it upon yourself to fix their mistakes."

_They weren't mistakes…they knew what they were doing was wrong…evil…_

She did take it upon herself. She felt she owed the world that much. Even though she could never be responsible for her parents' actions she wanted to fight back against people like them.

She didn't answer Evan soon enough and she heard him sigh. "You've lived a rough life for such a young, delicate girl. And here I am making you work when you should be given some peace. Go on and gather your things and head home, Miss Birkin. I'll take care of the rest."

Sherry shook her head. "O-oh no, sir. It's no big deal. I'll just finish up."

"Nonsense. I've already made you work on your day off. I realize how insensitive I was this morning when I asked you to stay," Evan chuckled, holding out his hand.

He was gesturing for her to take his hand so he could pull her out of her chair. Sherry hesitated at first, then slowly put forth her slender arm. Evan took her hand and tugged her up gently. As she was rising from her chair, Sherry noticed the sleeve pull back on Evan's right forearm just slightly. But it was just enough to get her a glance at a tattoo that presented a very familiar symbol. Her heart rose slightly, but she dared not let him notice that she reacted to it.

_I know that serpent emblem anywhere…Just like Simmons' ring. Evan Fox must be a part of the Family!_

The Family seemed to be connected to Neo-Umbrella. Simmons caused the outbreak in Tall Oaks to prevent President Benford from speaking the truth of the Raccoon City Incident. Carla Radames caused much more destruction in her quest of revenge, but she had been under the Family's employment in the beginning of Neo-Umbrella.

She needed to speak to Leon about this right away. Sherry cleared her throat, gathering her things from her desk. "Thank you, Mr. Fox. You have a good evening."

"And you as well, Miss Birkin," Evan answered, dipping his head courteously towards her.

She felt his eyes on her as she left the office and headed out. She needed to find Leon. There was no telling where he was. Hopefully, he was finishing up his work as well and they could leave. She had to tell him about Evan Fox's tattoo.

* * *

Leon didn't know what to say. He didn't even react hardly to President Reed's words. And now all eyes were on the FOS's chief field agent. Hunnigan and Helena beheld him with concerned eyes. President Reed sat in his chair in the Oval Office, hands tense on the desk as he studied Leon closely, awaiting his response.

He knew he shouldn't have been surprised by the ex-Vice President's request. He was a lot like Adam Benford in so many ways. Leon respected that in the much younger President. Not even two months he had been sworn to oath into presidency from their good friend and President's assassination. He had so much on his shoulders now, with all that was going on in not only the United States, but globally. But President Reed was determined to make Adam proud.

"I'm sorry, it's just…the last time a good friend of mine told me that, all hell broke loose," Leon finally said.

President Reed nodded. "I know. But Adam was right…wasn't he? The world deserves to know, does it not? It's been nearly fifteen years and to this day, no one knows the truth. And bioterrorism is still happening, still affecting people all over the world and all they know is that the BSAA specializes in such a dangerous form of terrorism. They know Umbrella was somehow involved because of the plummet of its stock and associates, and in the end its collapse. And so what if Simmons was right about the United States falling from the world's number one superpower. We owe it to everyone as a nation, and as human beings."

Leon looked to Ingrid. She thinned her lips. She was uncertain of this approach, knowing the potential upset and chaos it could cause within the nation, but also with other countries. Helena on the other hand, who stood with two other Secret Service agents in the room was all for it. Leon was sure it was out of guilt with her involvement in Adam Benford's assassination, through blackmail.

Leon closed his eyes for a moment, sending a small prayer to his old friend. "I'll stand with you on whatever decision you choose, Mr. President."

"Thank you, Leon. Well, I must be off to my conference. I still have much work to do, and a new Vice President to nominate. I seem to be out of close allies right now for that position."

The young President rose from his seat. Leon and Ingrid moved to the side to let him pass with Helena and the other two agents guiding him. They followed behind them out of the Oval Office, but left the group from there on their own way.

"I guess I'm heading home now. Maybe I can take a breather for once. It always seems when you get back all hell breaks loose around here and it's up to me to keep things in order. It's always more peaceful when you are out on missions trying not to get killed," Hunnigan said, chuckling at her small joke.

"Very funny," Leon replied, smirking.

"I just need to grab some things from my office. I'll see you later, Leon. Have a good night."

"You too, Hunny."

She glared at him playfully and then left his side down another hallway. Leon made his way to the employee entrance lobby. He found Sherry waiting for him by the window, looking outside to the pretty day outside. He was happy to have found her. He didn't want her heading off by herself.

"Hey kiddo. Sorry I'm late."

Sherry turned to him, twitching a smile. "Kiddo? Will you and Claire ever get out of calling me that?"

Leon chuckled. "Claire started it. You weren't waiting long were you?"

"No. One of the other agents told me you were finishing up with business in the Oval Office. I'm glad. I didn't want to have to grab a cab or take the subway."

"Well, let's get going then. Don't want to keep them waiting."

Sherry nodded, and the two of them left the premises. As they were heading for his Jeep parked outside, Leon pulled out his cell phone and checked it. There was a text from Jake saying he was here and he had finished talking with Chris. It was sent almost an hour ago, and the meeting place they agreed upon was in the text.

He pocketed his phone, smiling slightly. He was surprised when Jake got a hold of him the other day, telling him his plans to meet with Chris and wanting to surprise Sherry. He asked for Leon's help to make that happen. Leon knew that Sherry and Jake had become close in their time working together. Jake meant a lot to Sherry, and Leon wasn't going deny Sherry the chance to reunite with him. Even though Jake was Wesker's son, he knew Jake was nothing like his father and really cared for Sherry.

He started up the Jeep and headed out. Sherry was sure they were heading for Chris's house to visit Claire and the others, but he was actually taking her to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Park. They would be meeting Jake at the Tidal Basin. It wasn't too far, and so Sherry would know something was up. Leon had a plan though.

"So Leon…about Evan Fox…"

Sherry's words broke off as Leon worked his way into heavy traffic in the Jeep. He glanced over to her. "What about him?"

"I saw…a tattoo on the underside of his wrist. It was the same serpent emblem that was on Simmons' ring. That's the symbol of the Family right?"

It wasn't news Leon wanted to hear at the moment. It definitely brought a whole new perspective to why Leon had uncertainties of the new Chief Security Advisor. It was something he would have to check out. If Evan Fox was a member of the Family, then there was no telling what he would be planning.

"Did he notice you recognizing it?"

Sherry quickly shook her head. "No."

"Good. I'll be sure to look into it. We don't want him coming onto us if this turns out to be true. So just act normal around him, alright?"

"Okay."

They dropped the subject after that. Though traffic was a bit stuffy, Leon was able to break away from his usual route and got onto Constitution Avenue, heading ever slowly south to Ohio Drive. At first Sherry didn't say anything, but was looking out the window. As the Jeep got onto Independence Avenue, with a small drive pass the Reflecting Pool with the Lincoln Memorial in the back, Sherry looked to Leon.

"Where are you taking us?"

Leon slightly shrugged, trying not to smile. "Claire wanted to meet at the Tidal Basin for some reason."

"Oh, okay. I know she loves to go there during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Maybe I will get to see it for once next year."

"It's beautiful."

Leon's words made Sherry twitch a smile. The sakura trees didn't blossom until March and April. It was just now getting into September with all that was going on since the outbreak in Lanshiang.

Leon knew the young agent believed him and didn't think anything on his excuse. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she realized it was Jake and not Claire.

He turned onto Ohio Drive not long after that, and followed the road by the Potomac River southeast to the parking lot near the FDR Memorial. It was always hell trying to find a parking spot anywhere in the capital, but Leon lucked out and parked the Jeep.

"You ready?" Leon asked.

Sherry nodded. The two FOS agents got out of the vehicle and headed into the park. Sherry walked by Leon's side, though she let him guide her. She took in the sights as they walked. There were many people hanging around the FDR Memorial down the street. Leon started heading up another road, going towards the Kutz Bridge so they avoided the Memorial altogether.

The park was clean and artistic in style. Everything was so green and well kept. The breeze was cool, and carried a fresh scent from the Potomac River that smelled almost like rain. The FDR Memorial Park was considered a part of the West Potomac Park, that also included the Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, and the Korean and Vietnam War Veterans Memorials, all of which were north of where they were now.

The Tidal Basin looked like a large lake, and Sherry could see the Jefferson Memorial on the opposite side once they got to the water's edge by the walkways. The sun's rays reflected off of the water in such a manner that made her want to sit down and just bask for the evening. There were some paddle boats in the basin, with people in them enjoying the day. The Cherry Blossom trees, though not in bloom, were still beautiful, creating plenty of shade under their green canopies all over the basin. Sherry could just imagine what the park looked like in spring when the cherry blossoms were blooming and all over the place. It would come off as magical, from them dancing in the wind, to them floating in the water.

"It's so beautiful here," Sherry acknowledged.

Leon nodded. "I agree. However, I don't see Claire. Do you?"

The two stopped by the water's edge after just walking for a bit on the walkway. Sherry looked around. There were a lot of people enjoying their day here. Couples were walking holding hands, kids were playing in the grass, and older couples sat under the shade of the cherry blossom trees on the benches.

She didn't see Claire anywhere, but one person caught her eye. At first she thought she was seeing things, and blinked rapidly. He was smirking as he pushed himself off from leaning on the tree. When he spoke, she knew she wasn't hallucinating.

"Well, well, well, super girl. Fancy meeting you here."

"Jake!" Sherry exclaimed, smiling. She glanced at Leon to see that smirk on his face, and knew that Leon had known about this all along. She bounded the strides over to Jake and hugged him. Jake returned the hug, chuckling.

Sherry pulled away. "I can't believe it! How long have you been here?"

Jake shrugged. "Five days. I've only got here to the capital this morning."

Sherry whirled on Leon. "And you knew this?"

It was Leon's turn to laugh. "Well, yes. Jake got a hold of me. He wanted to surprise you."

She turned back to Jake. "And so this means all our texts recently you were here in the States and I had no clue. That's not very nice, Jake."

Jake raised his arms in defense. "Hey, I had some business to take care of, and besides…I wanted to surprise you. It was worth it."

He turned to Leon. "Thanks for bringing her out here, hero. I owe ya one."

Leon nodded. "Just take care of her. I'll leave you two alone. I better get over to see Claire while I can. I will see you two later."

Jake only waved him off as the agent turned to leave, but Sherry called at his back. "Thank you, Leon. See you later."

Leon smirked, waving over his shoulder at them as he headed back for his Jeep. Sherry took Jake's hand and dragged him over to a nearby bench that overlooked the basin to sit.

"So, how long were you waiting?" Sherry asked.

"About an hour. You know, this city is a pain in the ass. You know how fucking hard it is to find a parking spot around here? On top of that, I was watched out here like I was some sort of thug. Oh, and a little girl kept trying to sell me peanut brittle."

Sherry could only laugh. It was good to hear his voice, cuss words and all. "Well, it sounds as though we are going to have to get you used to civilian life."

"To hell with that! I would die living in a place like this. Is there somewhere we can that's more private?"

"Somewhere private in Washington D.C? You've got to be kidding me," Sherry laughed.

"I suppose you're right."

"Oh, Jake! You need to meet Claire! I've told her all about you!"

"Already did. And you didn't tell her everything. She seemed pretty surprised whose son I was."

Sherry grunted, confused. "You mean?"

"Yeah. I spoke with Redfield earlier. Such a fucking mess. I think I was left with more questions than answers. And to top it off I just felt that Redfield is cautious around me…like I'm gonna fucking snap any moment. I mean…I could tell he was sincere when he was talking to me, but he still judges me. Same with Claire and Jill."

Sherry shook her head. "They aren't like that. Chris wants to help you, Jake. But you also have to remember that Chris has suffered a lot through his life. He just lost his whole squad these past few months because of the C-Virus. And he has lost a lot more friends from Wesker. He's been in this from the very beginning, and he hasn't stop since."

"So why doesn't he retire? Why don't he let what's his name to take his place? The guy that was with him back in the underwater facility whose ass I wanted to stomp? He's perfect high and mighty BSAA material."

Sherry lowered her eyes, frowning. "You mean Piers? He died down there…saving Chris. And making sure that Haos creature was destroyed."

"Oh…sorry, I didn't know."

She could tell Jake regretted his harsh words. The son of Albert Wesker heaved a sigh. "Well, it takes a lot of courage and honor to sacrifice your own life like that. So…I respect him for it."

Sherry smiled weakly. She could tell Jake had come a long way since they met. Had he still been the way he was when they first teamed up, she was sure he would have called Piers' sacrifice one of foolishness and insignificance.

Her stomach growled loudly all of a sudden, making her blush and causing Jake to chuckle. She knew it had been since before noon the last time she ate something. It was dinner time anyway just about.

"What the hell was that? You got a grizzly bear in your stomach or something?" Jake laughed.

"Sorry. I've been so busy today I didn't have time to eat lunch. Didn't realize how hungry I was until just now."

"Well, we should go grab some chow then. Assuming of course, you know of a good place to eat in this shithole?"

Sherry laughed. "I know plenty. Let's go. Did you take the metro here?

"Hell no. Why would I take the crowded public transit when I have my own ride? Follow me, super girl."

Jake and Sherry walked together back to the same parking lot that Leon had entered with his Jeep. The lot was full of vehicles and overlooked the Potomac River. Jake brought her to a beautiful red bike, very similar to the one he had stolen in China to save their asses.

Jake smirked at the bike, presenting it with much vigor. "Ta-dah! What do you think? Much better than a stinky ass old subway, am I right?"

"I guess as long as no one is chasing us in a helicopter or other vehicles trying to kill us this time, it should be a nice ride," Sherry joked.

"Touché," Jake chuckled.

* * *

"This city is so lackluster," Ada sighed, looking out the window of the black Chevrolet Tahoe.

An agent of the Family was chauffeuring her around Washington D.C. She had only arrived this morning to the States, and the Eurasian woman was quickly reminded why she had no care for the capital city. The past two months had sent her on a few more missions for the temporary leader of the Family.

She was on her way to meet with him at the moment. The Simmons' family lineage was scrambling about to elect their new, true leader of the Family. Derek had no children or other siblings. Ada heard through the grape vine while being employed under them that it was going to be his nephew, whoever that was. She had spent the past two months cleaning up the Family's screw-ups within Neo-Umbrella, most of which were caused by Carla.

Anytime Ada spoke to anyone within the Family, it had been an agent, but now she was going to meet with the temporary leader for a new assignment. It had to be something important for such a meeting. Normally, she would show up on her own accord, in her own way, but the Family worked a little differently than most of her clients.

The Tahoe was pulling into a government building not far from the Smithsonian. Ada rolled her eyes, not at all surprised by their destination. The driver pulled up to the front entrance, with wide concrete steps easing up to the grand glass display of the building.

Ada opened her door and got out. Two more agents in black suits and sunglasses working for the Family were walking down the steps to greet her. The Tahoe pulled away, leaving entirely from the parking lot.

"Good afternoon boys," Ada greeted with a sly smile. "Pulling out the red carpet for me? How charming."

Her black hair ruffled in the wind, looking like a raven's feathers in the breeze, glossy and dark. She wore a red dress that stopped just below her knees with normal style sleeves. Over the dress was a unique black lace design that made the dress stand out. The lace was a bit longer than the dress, and had sleeves down to her elbow in the design. She wore black dress boots with it.

Even with her stunning appearance, the agents merely motioned to her for the front entrance and started leading the way. The trip through the building was mostly uneventful. The building was huge, with multiple floors, and hundreds of employees and other agents working. Though Ada acted unenthused, she always took in her surroundings and its conditions with great care in case she ever had to react to a certain situation.

She saw many security systems and cameras on their tour through the building. They came to an elevator that was different from the others. Ada noticed it took a certain access to even open. When they got inside the large elevator, one agent hit the only floor that was listed besides the first floor they were on. It was simply called B5. The elevator secured itself and started descending. Once all was quiet, Ada heard the melody of old fashioned elevator music. It made her smile.

"Wow, nice selection of music."

The agents spoke not a word to her. Of course, Ada knew they wouldn't talk to her unless she provoked them. It didn't stop her from poking at their nerves.

As the elevator was positioning itself into a stop on the floor, Ada folded her arms. "Let me guess, a big, elaborate underground laboratory?"

The doors slid open, and a white hallway leading out into a very sophisticated set of laboratories was before them. The setup reminded her very much of an Umbrella lab as she stepped off of the elevator and was guided along by the agents.

"How original," Ada sighed sarcastically. "I was hoping you fellas would surprise me for once."

They took her into a large, clean office that wasn't near as white as the hallway walls and laboratory. The office was typical for any high overseer of something as intricate as this underground lab. The office had a small built in study to the far side. There was a large mahogany desk covered with paperwork, a computer, and some other items. There was a large monitor set up on one wall depicting several video feeds of different labs and their workers. Behind the desk was a huge fish tank that took up much of the wall, though it held no ordinary aquatic life. Ada quickly recognized small shark-like BOWs swimming around in the tank. There was also a taxidermy representation of a Hunter Beta posed with one arm of claws out and howling within the study room area.

In all her years Ada had never seen a stuffed BOW. Well, she kept going on and on how she wanted to be surprised today, and she definitely got it.

She walked around by the desk, the two agents posting themselves on either side of the door. Ada assumed they were waiting for the temporary leader, and so walked over to the tank to watch the BOWs swim around. It wasn't long before she heard someone enter, and she turned to greet them, only to be surprised at the familiar face. She kept her composure though.

"Ah, Miss Wong. Long time no see."

"Evan Fox? You are the temporary leader of the Family? I'm shocked. Weren't you some kind of Chairmen over in Europe for one of the Family's Pharmaceutical Corporations?"

Evan chuckled, walking over to his desk. "For the past eight years, yes."

"You don't have an accent."

"Yes, well, I have to hide it while working as the new Chief Security Advisor."

"I see," Ada replied. She pointed to the BOWs in the tank. "Are you guys breeding pet BOWs now?"

"What, do you want one? They are failed experiments. No aggression but unique to look at so I set them up here. They are from labs I worked in Europe."

"And what about that?" Ada pointed to the stuffed Hunter. "That's not creepy at all."

Evan shrugged. "You never know. It might become the new era of taxidermy. Why mount a deer or a bear when you can show off something a lot more dangerous and challenging?"

"Well, I see you haven't changed," Ada said, smiling. She sat down in front of his desk after he sat down in his own chair. "So tell me, why did you want to see me in person?"

"Well, I have a couple of assignments for you that require your expertise. And since I have so much going on with the Simmons' line trying to locate Samuel, and then I-"

"Whoa, wait. The Family cannot locate its own successor? How does that happen?" Ada asked.

"You weren't told about this?" Evan inquired, but quickly dismissed it. "He went missing right around the time the missile hit Lanshiang. At first we were sure it was because he didn't want to take his uncle's place as leader of the Family. But no one just disappears from the Family like that."

Ada smirked. "Evan, are you trying to take over the Family? Is Samuel hogtied sitting behind one of your vaults around here?"

"As tempting as it is, I have my own escapades to deal with. I've been working on a very special project for the past three years that I hope is almost complete. So no, unfortunately, Samuel is not hogtied and being kept against his will under my control."

"Okay, so about my assignments."

Evan nodded at her. "Yes. I need for you to locate Rurik Ginovaef. He's been working with us for the past few years, but ever since he has showed up to the States under my command, he has come up missing. I imagine it has something to do with Albert Wesker's son showing up here as well. After all, he trained the boy himself and gained some sort of bond with him while we had him there a few years back looking for Jake."

Ada groaned. "Great."

"What's the matter? You two know each other. And have worked together."

Ada leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. "One does not simply work with that man. Now I worked with his older half-brother Nicholai when I was under Albert's employment. He was much more fun to work with."

HUNK was called Mr. Death for a reason. There weren't too many people that Ada had to worry about keeping her guard up with, but he was definitely one of them. She and Nicholai had been good friends, but Rurik had always been an enemy for the most part, besides the few occasions they were working with neutral employers.

"He shouldn't cause you any hassle. He knows you are in our employment now. I just need to know where he is and what he is up to. I don't trust him when it comes to Albert Wesker's son."

"Why not?"

"Well, first of all, he taught the boy how to fight and survive. And then I'm pretty sure Rurik made it to where Jake could escape when we had come to retrieve him by force the first time with Rurik leading them."

"That doesn't sound like him. He's not one to get close to anybody. Are you sure that Jake just didn't succeed on his escape on his own and now Rurik wants to finish the job? I mean Jake is Albert's son, and the Wesker line seems to be annoying in the fact that they just won't die easily."

Evan thought it over. "I guess you could be correct. But even then, I can't have him killing Jake when we could still get some use out of him. This is your priority assignment."

"Okay, so what is the second one?" Ada inquired.

"After you locate Rurik and settle that assignment, I might need you to travel to Hawaii."

"Hawaii, huh? I hope for a vacation."

"Not quite. We think we have found a base that might be linked to Alex Wesker."

"You just love to make me deal with people I don't like. I thought everyone gave up looking for him? He hasn't been heard of sense before Spencer died."

"Well, it hasn't been a priority in a while because he has been quiet, but this is the first clue we've gotten in years and want to jump on it. Alex's blood may just be as useful as Albert's. And of course we want to get our hands on his secret to immortality he has supposedly found."

Ada blew air through her lips, shaking her head slightly in uncertainty. "I don't know. I have had some experience with the Wesker line, and I have found that it's not a very good idea to provoke them. I'll just make sure I mention your name and the Family quite a bit so I'm left out of that horrible outcome."

Evan rose from his chair. "So be it. Now, I hate to have to rush you, but you should get on the ball to locating Rurik."

Ada stood from her own seat gracefully, nodding at Evan. "Of course. I can tell you have a lot of work to be doing down here with Neo-Umbrella."

Evan smirked, his icy green eyes flashing almost wickedly. "I do have that special project I should be returning to."

Normally, just a statement would only make Ada scoff, but she found an unsettling feeling to his words. She turned and left with the same two agents that escorted her before with the same disturbing feeling. She shrugged it off once she got outside, knowing she would have to start focusing on her immediate assignment at hand.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait on this chapter! It's a long one at least lol. I had family issues form unexpectedly with the passing of two family members who live far away and in different locations. But I'm doing okay, don't worry about me. So on about the chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it. I wasn't going to add Ada's section until next chapter, but decided to fit it in this one. Don't worry, more Jake and Sherry will come in the next chapter lol. Oh and I guess I should mention I will have some LeonxAda moments in this story because most votes in the reviews pointed to that pair. Thank you for voting! :) Obviously, the main pairing will be Jake and Sherry though lol. Thanks for being patient, the next chapter shouldn't wait as long. I'm also almost finished with Nightfall's newest chapter, and working slowly on my planned Resident Evil 6 humor/parody story. Thanks again, and everyone have a good weekend! :)**


	5. Chapter 4: Tracking Down Answers

**Chapter 4: Tracking Down Answers**

"Are you shitting me?! I can't order a beer?! What the hell is wrong with this country?!"

Sherry tried to hush Jake's outburst in the restaurant while a few heads turned at his tantrum. They had picked out a nice, authentic Italian restaurant not far from the Potomac River. The waiter blinked with wide eyes at Jake's continuing throng of colorful complaints and thoughts after he told him that he had to be twenty-one to order alcohol to drink.

"Jake, I'm sorry but it's just the law in this country. You have to be twenty-one to drink."

"Fine…I'll have water with lemon. I'm old enough to drink that, right?"

The waiter nodded, and turned to Sherry. "And you miss?"

"Same."

The waiter left their table to fetch their drinks. Sherry sighed in relief as Jake settled down and started looking at his menu.

"In Edonia, the legal age to drink is sixteen. 'Ol Uncle Sam is ass backwards sometimes I swear. They let eighteen year olds go to war to get themselves killed, or smoke, or drive a car, but they can't drink alcohol?"

"Oh Jake, c'mon. You have what… three months to go til you're twenty-one? You'll be fine." Sherry laughed at this.

"I would be fine in Edonia where twenty-one doesn't mean anything. Here, you guys act like it's the damn gate to adulthood."

Sherry rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Have you a clue what you want?"

"Yes. I'm having the poor man's lobster."

"And what's that?"

"Anglerfish. And what are you having?"

Sherry was flipping through the menu intently, rubbing a finger on her lower lip as she thought. "I don't know…probably chicken alfredo or five cheese ziti or something. Oh, the portabella ravioli sounds good."

Jake snickered. "Way to branch out, Sherry. That's totally an American choice for fine Italian."

"Alright, Mister Muller, you are gonna get it," Sherry jabbed. "Or whatever your last name is now. You should have kept it as Muller because you are as stubborn as a mule."

"Oh, funny, like I haven't heard that before," Jake joked.

"You leave my chicken alfredo alone!"

They were both chuckling by the time the waiter brought them their drinks, as well as some salad and bread. He got his pad ready, the young man looking much more settled now after Jake's fit earlier. He wore a nice suit like many of the other waiters and waitresses, and he spoke with an Italian accent.

"What can I get for you?"

"Ah, yes, I'll take the Rana Pescatrice alla Cacciatora…and princess here will take the ever famous chicken alfredo."

Sherry stuck her tongue out at Jake as he reveled in his smartass moment. Before their waiter could repeat their order, another waiter, a bit older in the same kind of suit walked up and was speaking in Italian to their current waiter.

"Per favore, puoi prendere tavolo sette per me?" the older waiter asked.

Their waiter nodded. "Si, ma lasciami finire con questo scatto fanfarone e la sua prima ragazza."

The other waiter nodded and left. Their waiter turned back to them, smiling weakly. "Okay, so I have the anglerfish with rosemary and garlic and a chicken alfredo. May I get you anything else this afternoon before placing this order?"

"No, we should be good," Sherry replied.

The waiter nodded, and turned, but before he could leave, Jake called to him.

"Hey!"

The waiter looked to Jake, who was glaring at him. "Potrebbe essere una buona idea per guardare cio che si dice in giro i vostri clienti, idiota."

The waiter gave him a hardened look, red flushing on his face before turning and walking briskly away. Sherry was puzzled, and looked from their waiter's back to Jake.

"What did you say?"

"I told him to watch what he says around customers," Jake said simply.

"So you can speak Italian too huh? What other languages do you know? You spoke and read Chinese so well in Lanshiang and obviously Edonian. Pretty impressive."

Jake shrugged. "I know a few from my travels as a mercenary. Italian and Spanish…both similar and easy. I also know German and some Russian. And some Arabic. I'm better at reading it than speaking it. I've always been able to pick up on languages pretty easily."

"Wow, that's amazing. You must get it from your-" she cut herself off when she realized where she was going with that. Jake narrowed his eyes at her, and she quickly changed the subject. "So uhh, Mandarin Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn. How did you come about learning that?"

"My mother taught it to me as I was growing up. She knew quite a few languages as well, but Chinese was her favorite. She used to tell me there was a beauty to the language and the culture."

Sherry watched Jake's eyes closely as he trailed off, thinking of his mother. She saw a small flicker of Jake's soul that he usually kept well hidden. She saw love in his eyes, but there was also regret and sadness. He soon shook out of the trance, and cleared his throat.

"Anyway, so I have her to thank on that language. It comes in handy quite a lot to me."

Sherry smiled softly. "I bet. You know…I would have been honored to have met her. She sounds like she was a wonderful person."

Jake twitched his lips. "She was. So…how about your mother, super girl?"

Sherry slowly frowned, thinking of her mother Annette Birkin. She knew she still had to tell Jake all about how her father and Jake's father were good friends and partners back then…that she knew Wesker and had accepted him as family in her young age growing up. But she found it difficult to bring up Wesker around Jake right now. She had to remain positive that a better time would come up, and she could tell him the truth. For now, she tried to come up with something good about her mother, but found it challenging. She wasn't much different from her father. She worked for Umbrella as well. She knew the evils they were creating.

Outside of work, her mother had been strict and often just as busy with other things. And though her mother was the parent to most likely worry about her well-being, Sherry couldn't remember much when it came to love and bonding in her family. There were a few occasions where Sherry and her mother bonded as she grew over the years, but they were so far and few in between. Her father was the one who would go easy on her in scolding, and often remembered him kneeling down in front of her, patting her head, and having this handsome smile that she used to believe could do no evil.

"Sherry?"

She shook out of her thoughts, her eyes catching Jake's who was watching her closely. "You alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah, sorry…I was just thinking of my mom. She worked with my father for Umbrella. She wasn't much different from him."

It was the reason that Sherry had clung to Claire when she was younger. Claire treated her more like a loving parent than anyone ever did in her life. And to this day, Sherry looked up to Claire, who had remained as guardian and new family since the Raccoon City Incident.

Jake lowered his eyes, obviously upset that he had brought up something that had troubled her. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's alright, Jake. It doesn't bother me anymore. Besides, when I think of family, I think of Claire…and Leon, and the others."

"That's good. I'm glad. You know…I was wrong about Redfield. And now I can understand your feelings towards all of them. I guess the next time I see Claire and Leon I will thank them for what they did for you."

Sherry smiled at him. They went on to eat their salads quietly. It wasn't long until their orders came and was delivered to their table. Sherry looked to Jake's large, exquisite plate down to her not near as fancy plate of chicken alfredo. Jake gloated with a smirk, taking a big bite of the anglerfish.

"What's wrong, super girl? Is your chicken alfredo not what you expected?"

Sherry stuck her fork into the dish and twirled it, getting a small bite ready on the utensil. She glared playfully at Jake and took the bite from her fork slowly.

"Oh no, it's damn good."

Jake snickered. "If you say so."

They started eating their meals while visiting. Sherry was glad. Her stomach had been anxiously waiting for a meal for a while today thanks to her hard work. She decided to ask Jake about his arrival to the United States.

"So Jake, what have you been doing while in the country? You said you have been here for five days. Something about taking care of business right?"

Jake took a drink of his water. "Yes. Actually, I was going to tell you about that. I decided to go through some of my mom's old things I had in storage. That's how I found out I was actually born in the U.S. Only, my mother had it arranged to make it look I was actually born in Edonia. Apparently, I have an aunt. Her name is Michelle Lewis. At least, that's what her name is now. She used to live in New York City, and my mother stayed with her for some time, and gave birth to me. And right after that, she left for Edonia. The only reason I know this, was because I also found the name of an old friend of theirs. And that's where I have been this whole time since arriving to the states five days ago. I was in New York City busting my ass off trying to find this bum. His name was George Flicker, and he was able to tell me where my aunt moved off to…told me that she could give me more answers to my mother's history."

Sherry took his words in carefully. This sounded like something they needed to look into. It was obviously important to Jake. However, something was nagging at Sherry's heart about all of this.

"What do you mean that's her name now? Her real name isn't Michelle Lewis?"

Jake shook his head. "No, and the bum wouldn't tell me what her real name was. I don't know why she changed her identity and moved…but it has something to do with my mother going to Edonia."

"Okay, so where is your aunt now?"

"That's the funny thing. Here."

"Here?!"

"Well, actually Arlington, but it's pretty close."

Sherry lowered her eyes to her almost halfway empty plate. "Sounds almost too good to be true."

"That's what I am saying," Jake sighed. "But I have to go check it out. My mother left me with many unanswered questions. I'm sure as hell not gonna get them from my father. So…would you like to accompany me?"

Her eyes instantly went back up to meet his. She was quiet at first. She knew she had to stay close in case something came up with her work, or with Claire and the others. But Arlington was not even half an hour across from the Potomac River. And this was important to Jake and wanted to be there for him.

So she nodded, smiling. "Of course. When do we head out?"

"After dessert? I am old enough to eat dessert in this country right?"

Sherry laughed. "Yes!"

* * *

The BSAA base was huge, the biggest in the United States and the Headquarters to the North American unit of the bioterrorism military. The base consisted of many buildings, training centers, airstrips, hangars, and barracks. A military plane was coming in to land as Chris and Jill got out of his brand new black four door Dodge Ram. They parked right outside the Central Offices, a building that towered over all others in the base. The American flag reigned supreme from the top of Central.

It wasn't long after Jake left that Chris got a call from the North American director, fellow Original, and close friend Patricia Morgan. It was an update on what was going on with the quarantines from the outbreaks all over the world. But there was also an important issue she wanted to discuss about Neo-Umbrella.

Patricia's office was on the top floor, and looked over most of the base with a wide observation window. Chris and Jill hurried inside Central and made their way to the elevators, passing by other BSAA soldiers in the process. Some soldiers saluted them as they passed. Chris knew Claire would be okay at the house, considering Leon was on his way to meet with her anyway. His main thoughts were on what Patricia wanted to talk about.

As they made it to the top floor through the elevators, Chris and Jill stuck by each other's side heading to her office. They were greeted with two soldiers standing post outside the double doors. With a nod, they were allowed to enter, and the doors slid open to let them inside.

The office was large and decorated beautifully. The first thing they noticed as they walked in was the large observation window that took up the entire opposite wall. The doors let them to a small foyer before the office expanded to its open floor. The walls depicted some portraits from American history. The carpet was a forest green color. To their right was a small kitchen area, as well as a hallway that led to a personal bathroom. There were a few bookshelves full around the office, with some filing cabinets to match.

To their left was Patricia's desk, made of cherry and setting well with the green carpet. Behind the desk, another American flag hung on the wall. In the corner, a large flat screen television hung snuggly, but was currently turned off. The desk was full of documents, with some office supplies, as well as a computer with a large monitor.

Husband and wife walked over to the large desk, where their friend and director was currently speaking on the phone. Patricia was a beautiful woman in her mid-forties. She had long, curly red hair and blue eyes with glasses, long legs and a curvy figure. She wore a dark blue knee length skirt with high heels, and a long sleeved white blouse covered mostly by a dark blue vest. She had been in politics for a few years, but had been one of the honorable, honest few. In her younger days before that, she had served in the Air Force. But up until taking over the position of director of the North American BSAA branch, she had worked at the Pentagon. It was strange enough that her younger brother was the director of the CIA, and Curtis Lyon helped the BSAA out just as much as Patricia did. Patricia had only served director for two years so far, with the retirement of their longtime friend and another Original Twelve Bernard Sunderland. Chris, Jill, and the others could always trust Patricia and knew she was perfect leadership material for the BSAA.

Patricia hung up the phone. She smiled at Chris and Jill and motioned them to sit down across from her desk in the empty chairs. And so they did.

"Sorry about that. It was Curtis filling me in on some important details. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"It's no problem, Trish. What's going on?" Jill asked.

"Well, I just got word that a new outbreak was called in. I'm still waiting them to confirm if it is the C-Virus or not, but it is off the path of the other outbreaks."

"Where is it?" Chris asked.

Patricia sighed. "Japan. Unfortunately, those answers will have to wait. I was hoping to have them by the time you arrived. However, there is something urgent I must discuss with you now. It's about Neo-Umbrella."

Chris swallowed, not wanting to hear this, but slowly nodded. "Alright. What about them?"

"Well, Curtis has been talking to President Reed. They both agree it is time to start the move against Neo-Umbrella before they decide to do unleash something else. The problem is, we don't have much information or clues to who they are, where they are working at, and what they are planning."

"Well, we do know that Carla Radames was working for them. She is the one who actually named it Neo-Umbrella. Before then, it had to be the Family's own operation of bioterrorism," Jill explained.

"There's nothing on the Family. I believe what you are saying about them, but until we can find any clues to who they are and where they are at, our best chance is to go after Neo-Umbrella. Maybe then it can lead us to the Family. Curtis is going to be sending out several agents to gather some Intel on Neo-Umbrella. Hopefully, we can find this rat nest…because when we do, I want you guys to be ready for it. I want you guys to go in and take it out like the old Umbrella."

Chris didn't answer. He lowered his eyes, not sure if he would be ready. He thought of Piers and how he had failed him. He didn't want to fail the others if they had to storm Neo-Umbrella. He felt Jill's eyes on him and glanced up at her. She had this look of concern on her face, but she soon looked to the director.

"We will be ready."

Patricia twitched a smile. "Good. I can always count on you guys." She then looked to Chris, and her smile faded. She seemed to think for a moment, and then leaned forward on her desk, lacing her fingers there. "Chris, I didn't get to say before…I'm sorry about Piers. He was a good man, and what he did for you and the world will never be forgotten."

"Thank you."

"I have a new unit hand chosen for you when you are ready."

Chris quickly shook his head. "No, no…I can't do that. They deserve someone better, someone who isn't going to get them killed. I would prefer to go out into the field alone."

"You can't be a captain without a unit."

"Then I am no longer a captain."

Patricia was caught off guard. She looked to Jill. She too was stunned, staring at Chris like she was hurt from his words. The director quickly composed herself and nodded.

"Well, if that is what you wish. But they will be yours if you ever change your mind."

Her desk phone started ringing again. Patricia answered it with her name and title. She then grew quiet to listen to the other side, but the more she listened, the whiter her face became. Chris and Jill exchanged looks, not liking the director's expression.

"Yes…I understand. I'm on my way."

She hung up, standing from her chair. When she stood, Chris and Jill mimicked her, but they waited to hear what the news had been. Patricia took a moment, staring down at her desk, and then grabbed up some documents as well as her keys.

"I'm needed at the Pentagon. The outbreak in Japan isn't the C-Virus, but that isn't the problem at the moment. Apparently, there is a huge monster off the coast attacking their military."

She headed for the office's exit, with Chris and Jill tailing right behind her. The doors automatically slid open to let them out, and they headed for the elevators that would lead them down onto Central's ground floor.

"Giant monster?" Jill asked, feeling sick.

"Yeah…and something tells me it isn't Godzilla."

* * *

Jake glared up at the old apartment complex. He glanced over his shoulder at Sherry, who was still holding him from behind even as the bike was now parked beside the curb. Her eyes were squinted a cute way trying to look at the ugly building with the glare of the sun.

The address led them to the poor side of the city, far away from the memorials and beautiful parks the city had to offer. Jake looked around, wondering if even his bike would be safe parked here.

"What a shithole. Feels like home almost," Jake sneered. "I guess my aunt is as poor as we were. C'mon, we better go see if she's here."

He lifted his leg and got off the bike. He extended his hand to let Sherry take it. She smiled, grabbing it, and let him pull her off the bike to her feet. The apartment building was four floors of slum on the outside. They doubt the inside looked any better.

"You think she really lives here?" Sherry inquired.

"Only one way to find out," he answered. "Oh, and if my bike gets stolen you are buying me a new one…never mind, Redfield can buy me one. It's the least he could do for killing my father."

Sherry shook her head, letting the random grumble on Chris pass over her, and started leading the way into the apartment complex. "I'm sure it will be fine, Jake."

The foyer smelled of smoke and mildew, and they soon realized that the inside of the building was no better than the outside. It was old, with the ceiling stained with cigarette smoke. The old wallpaper was peeling and grimy from age. They found the superintendent's front desk, with a door that led to the office in the back, but no one was around to help them.

"Do you know what room she is?"

Jake shook his head. "No, that George guy was only able to tell me the apartment name."

"I guess we better start knocking on doors," Sherry sighed, but then noticed the apartment's rows of mailboxes hanging on the far wall. Each box had a name and room number.

Just as Jake came over to help her look, the superintendent appeared from the back. He was an elderly man with a bend in his back and overalls. He glared at them behind his thick eyeglasses.

"If you two are loiters or trespassers, you better get along before I grab my shotgun."

Sherry smacked Jake in the stomach before he could even blurt out a dare.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry sir, we don't mean any trouble. We are looking for Michelle Lewis. Does she live here?" Sherry asked, smiling and stepping forward.

"Who's asking?"

Sherry pulled out her FOS badge. "I'm with National Security. This here is Michelle's long lost nephew. It's important that we speak to her, she is the only family he has left."

The superintendent studied her a moment and then grumbled. "Third floor, room 33. As you go up the stairs onto the third floor it's the second one down on your left."

"Thank you sir. We really appreciate it."

She nodded to Jake and they headed for the stairs. They made their way to the third floor and to the room number that the old man told them. Jake hesitated before knocking on the brown door. They waited a long moment before the squeaking of floorboards on the other side alerted them to footsteps coming.

The door creaked open just a few inches, a latch lock kept it from coming open all the way, but a petite middle-aged woman with dull auburn hair and green eyes peaked out at them. They could barely see the basics of her. She was wearing a white housedress with some floral design and house slippers. She looked at them suspiciously.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

When her eyes landed on Jake, they widened. They didn't even have time to say anything before she slammed the door shut in their faces. Jake and Sherry exchanged glances, wondering what happened, but then quickly heard her unlatching the lock and throwing the door open.

"Oh my God, Jake! Come in, come in! Hurry!"

They were herded inside, and then Michelle shut the door behind them in haste, as if afraid something was going to get them, and locked the door back up. She stayed by the door a moment, taking in Jake's appearance. It was as if she was looking at an angel. But her look of shock and happiness soon faded to a pacing, muttering mess that they couldn't keep up with, and she was starting to cry.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Chill out," Jake told her. "How do you know who I am?"

Michelle stopped pacing, and stared up at him, tears down her face. "You look just like him."

The words made him stop short. He clenched his jaw to let the words go over him, and tried again to get through to his aunt. "I came for answers!"

"Oh no, no, no, no, no! You need to leave. If they find me, I'm dead. I'm sorry. You don't know how happy I am to see you, but you have to leave."

"Who?" Sherry asked.

"It doesn't matter, just please…leave."

Jake grabbed Michelle's arm and turned her to him. He shushed her in gentle way, like you would soothe an upset toddler. "Look, I came for answers about mom. You are the only family I have left. You are the only one who can help me. Please? I swear I won't let anyone hurt you. No one knows I'm here in the states. You are safe."

Michelle slowly nodded after a moment. "O…kay…come with me."

She led them through the apartment, from the foyer through the kitchen and into the living room. The apartment room was somewhat clean, but the age of it stood out amongst Michelle's things. His aunt didn't have much, looking about the average poor person living in a run-down apartment complex like many people within this neighborhood. There was a black cat sleeping on the top of one of the old sofas, and as Jake and Sherry sat down on one, across from his aunt, they noticed something else about the apartment. There were fish everywhere. There were live, colorful fish in several tanks along many areas of the apartment, probably even areas they couldn't see like the bedrooms. There were books on fish lying around, lots of handwritten notes by these books. And there were also pictures of fish.

Michelle noticed their looks to her fish tanks. "I know, it's an eyeful, but it is what I studied when I worked for them. I love fish."

"Who are them?" Sherry asked.

"Umbrella. I worked underground in New York City in one of the biggest labs. I specialized in fish."

Sherry was surprised to hear that answer from her. If Michelle worked for Umbrella, it confirmed why Sherry was having uneasiness about all of this. "So, Michelle, you must be Laura's sister? We came for some answers."

Michelle weakly nodded, obviously nervous. "Uh, yes. What would you like to know?"

"My mother obviously lived in Raccoon City for a while. What did she do there?" Jake asked.

"Laura worked for Umbrella as a researcher as well."

"Did my whole fucking family work for them or what?" Jake growled.

Sherry patted his arm to reassure him. "What kind of research did she do? Do you know where she worked?"

"She was only in Raccoon City for a year or two…I forget. We both got relocated from working at labs in Florida. She specialized in many departments, but while she was in Raccoon City, she was chosen to continue Dr. James Marcus's leech research with the T-Virus after he was assassinated."

"So what made her go to New York? She was obviously pregnant with me. Was she trying to get away from my father?"

Michelle shook her head. "Oh no. I don't think she even told him. If she did, he probably wanted no part in it. No, she came to New York to hide. She was trying to get away from Spencer. He wanted her dead."

"Why?"

"Because she wanted out from under Umbrella…freedom. So, I entrusted George to keep her safe and hidden until I got the all clear. Spencer had agents hunting her all over the States. After you were born, she left straight for Edonia, where she knew they would never find her. I went into hiding and changed my name. I moved here because there were other Umbrella refugees."

There just wasn't something right about Michelle's story. It seemed off. It nagged at Sherry, but she just didn't want to think that Jake's own aunt could be lying to them.

"What made her so sick?" Jake asked.

Michelle hesitated, and this time Sherry knew she caught the older woman in a lie. "She…was always healthy before. She must have caught something in Edonia."

Sherry could tell that Jake wasn't buying much of this either. Surprisingly though, he wasn't saying anything to his aunt about it, or showing much agitation.

"What kind of relationship did my mother have with my father? Do you know?"

"I'm sorry, she only told me a few things. They worked together here and there, but what I was able to gather that it was basically a one night stand. I'm sorry, Jake."

"Alright, that's it. Why the fuck are you lying to me? I came here for some answers, and you are giving me bullshit," Jake snapped, finally losing it. "My mother is dead…alright? Your sister is dead. Been dead. The least you can do is tell me the truth."

"Jake!"

Michelle lowered her eyes, responding to his sharp tone with tense, ginger movements to slightly pull away, as if someone was going to physically harm her. "I'm just trying to protect you. You wouldn't believe the truth anyway."

"Try me." Jake narrowed his eyes at his aunt. "My ass ain't moving off this damn couch until I hear the truth either. So you might as well start spilling it."

"Please, we need to know," Sherry put in, trying to add some sugar to his spice.

His aunt was silent at first, unmoving. She then slowly relaxed on the couch again, sighing with barely a sound. "Okay, but I warned you."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait with this chapter! Finally done though! Phew! Next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long.** **So they found Jake's long lost aunt, but she sure is hiding something! And I wonder what's going on in Japan? Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! I am so thankful that everyone is enjoying this story so much so far! I hope to continue doing just that! A new chapter for Nightfall is just about complete, and I am still working on my RE6 parody story. You all have a wonderful weekend!**

**Translations:**

"**Per favore, puoi prendere tavolo sette per me?"- "Can you please take table seven for me?"**

"**Si, ma lasciami finire con questo scatto fanfarone e la sua prima ragazza."- "Yes, but let me finish up with this loudmouth jerk and his girlfriend first."**

"**Potrebbe essere una buona idea per guardare cio che si dice in giro i vostri clienti, idiota."- "Might be a good idea to watch what you say around your customers, dumbass."**


	6. Chapter 5: Laura's Secret

**Chapter 5: Laura's Secret**

It didn't take long for Ada to track down Rurik within the city. She knew HUNK well on some levels, and she knew he would be scoping out places that Jake had been. Sure enough, she found him sitting in a new model black Camaro not far from Chris and Jill's house like an undercover cop.

Ada kept herself hidden, and slipped around to the passenger side of the car. She knew better than to just open the door and get in with Rurik, so merely tapped the glass of the window. His head snapped around, blue-grey eyes narrowing upon seeing her smiling and waving at him. She saw him clench his jaw, and unlock the car. Ada snickered in triumph and got in the car.

He hadn't changed much over the years since she last saw him. Usually he wore a mercenary stealth suit with his infamous gas mask, but there were plenty of times she saw him as himself. He was a handsome man, and always reminded of Ada of the movie actor Russell Crowe. He had the same built, as well as the intensity in those eyes. As usual he had light scruff on his face from not shaving, which to Ada made him a bit nicer to look at. His hair was a dark brown, with light graying around the temples. If she remembered correctly HUNK was in his late forties. His older half-brother Nicholai, who had at one time been Ada's ally, was in his mid-fifties now.

Rurik was wearing army green cargo pants with a black shirt with boots. She wasn't surprised to find weapons in the car, seeing a few knives, some ammo, and a few guns.

Rurik glanced at her only for a moment as she got in before his gaze returned to Chris's property. "What are you doing here?"

Ada feigned being insulted. "Can I not come and visit an old friend? I always wanted to play an undercover cop. Does this not get boring? How long have you been here?"

"Did Fox send you?"

"He did. Wanted me to keep an eye on you. He doesn't know what you are up to, and he doesn't like it."

Rurik chuckled, flashing a rare handsome smile. "Not surprised. If he is so worried about me, then he shouldn't be focusing on that very deadly and risky project he has been doing."

"So, you know what that is? I would like to know," Ada inquired, picking up the nearby open bag of cashews and helping herself.

"Oh, I know, but I'm not telling you. At least not right now. You wouldn't believe me anyways."

"Okay then, are you going to tell me why you are watching Chris Redfield's house? I know you are looking for Albert's son, but why?"

Rurik was quiet at first, eyes intent on Chris's house, thinking for a moment. "I'm going to kill him."

It was a logical answer to come from his mouth, considering he was HUNK and one of the deadliest mercenaries in the world. Ada barely nodded, thinking back to Evan's words on how Rurik had become a father figure to Jake and taught him how to fight and survive.

"I thought you two had a close bond? Well, until you betrayed him anyway."

Rurik sighed. "I allowed him to escape. He had become important to me in those years I had him and taught him everything he knows. I did betray him, but only once I found out whom he really was and what the Family wanted him for. I wanted him to escape and live on."

Ada scrunched her eyebrows. "So why kill him?"

"To protect him."

Ada looked at him, perplexed. "I'm sorry…that doesn't make sense."

Rurik gave a ghost of a smile, but his face soon hardened again. "It will."

"O…kay. Well, are you sure he will come back to Chris Redfield's house?"

Rurik nodded. "Yes. He is with Sherry Birkin, and he will bring her back here later."

Ada leaned back in her seat, folding her arms and looking to the house with him. "You are a strange one, Rurik. I always thought Nicholai just talked shit about you, but you really are…well interesting."

"Now there is a name I haven't heard in a long time. How is my older half-brother?"

"Unfortunately, I do not know. I haven't seen him since I left Albert's employment. I do miss him; he really was a good friend."

"He admired you."

The words caught her by surprise, but their conversation on Nicholai ended there when they saw a Jeep Wrangler pull into Chris's parking lot. Ada immediately recognized Leon getting out of the vehicle and heading for the front door. He didn't even make it to the front door before it opened, and she saw Claire in the doorway greeting him. The two went inside, and Leon shut the door behind him.

"Wasn't that your boyfriend?"

Rurik chuckled at her lack of a response. "I'm sorry, I get confused how you bounce around."

"What do you mean, bounce around?"

"Well, you were with John back in the day, but I remember hearing rumors that you were having an affair with Wesker. I know that lasted for a long while under his employment. And then there's Kennedy here, and I also have been told that Derek Simmons had a thing for you?"

"Simmons was insane. I did a few assignments for him and he got obsessed with me. There was never anything there except for what he came up with in his own mind. I can't help if men swoon over me."

Rurik snorted at her words. "Well, you do get involved with dangerous men, and that may prove to be deadly for you one day."

"Thanks for the advice," Ada sighed, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Michelle paced for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. Jake watched her like a hawk, his blue eyes following her very path in the living room. Sherry watched her as well, but not with the same intensity. She played with her fingers nervously as she waited for Jake's aunt to calm down and tell her story.

Michelle expelled a stressful sigh, flopping onto the couch and burying her face in her hands. Slowly, she looked up to them, collecting herself.

"Laura…was an experiment. She was chosen as one of the Wesker Children. For the longest time she was known as Laura Wesker…Child number seven. They tested her with the special strand of Progenitor Virus they were using on the Wesker Children. It had no effect on her, and seemed to simply dissolve in her system. Well, Spencer took her out of the experiment and she changed her name back to Muller and got moved to the Arklay Research Division in Raccoon City shortly afterward. That's when her virus started to mutate within her. But it did nothing for her, only attacked her own body, and that's why she was sick all the time. She had to live with that virus slowly eating away at her.

By this time, Spencer was sure that Albert was going to be the one to change the experiment, and he found out that Laura was pregnant with his child, but she was keeping it a secret. Laura found out that Spencer was going to incarcerate her until the baby was born, and then she was going to be killed. So she fled from Raccoon City to New York to hide with me under my care until you were born. And that is why she went to Edonia, so they could never find her or you. She didn't want you to end up being a guinea pig like they did.

I don't know if she told Albert or not before leaving, and I'm sorry for that Jake. Albert was the last of the Wesker Children, number thirteen because he was the last to take his virus. They numbered them in the order they took their viruses, not by age or gender or anything. Albert and Alex are the only true Wesker Children, and they are the only two to benefit from the Progenitor Virus in the way that Spencer desired."

"Wait, what? Who's Alex? And what do you mean the true Wesker Children?" Jake demanded.

"Alex is your uncle. He is Albert's younger half-brother and number twelve. He went into hiding years ago, not long before Albert killed Spencer in Europe. And before you ask, no, they didn't know each other. Albert had no idea about the Wesker Children until Spencer told him moments before his death. They had the same father, who was the main researcher behind the Wesker Children, and that's why they were named after him."

"Oh my God," Sherry mumbled, in shock.

Michelle looked to her. "Also…not many know this, but your Derek Simmons? He was a Wesker Child…child number ten. And that is why the C-Virus went to the extreme with him, because of his virus he had. It was the Family's way of trying to get a hold of Spencer's desire."

"So, if Jake's mother was a Wesker Child…then not all of them were evil?" Sherry asked.

Michelle shook her head. "No. In fact, I've noticed in the Wesker Children…the stronger they are, the more evil they are. That's just my theory, but there were a few who were normal people with normal feelings."

Jake was at a loss for words for once in his life. He was in deep thought, trying to wrap his head around all of this. He didn't even understand his feelings about this. Sherry was just as shocked as he was.

"Was there ever a cure for my mother?" Jake asked, voice cracking.

"I don't think there was ever a cure to the Wesker Children's strand of the Progenitor Virus. I'm sorry, Jake."

All that time he had prayed for her recovery had been futile. All the time he worked as a child and teenager raising money to get her the medication she needed, it was useless. Jake felt ashamed and disgusted that his mother never had any hope, and it was all his fault. There had to have been a cure at one time. It was Umbrella's research. Had Jake known what was really going on with his mother, he would have traded himself to be their guinea pig if they would have saved her.

"Jake, are you okay?" Sherry's sweet voiced made it to his ears, and Jake felt her touch on his arm.

"Yeah…I'm fine. Thank you for telling me the truth, Michelle."

She nodded. "You're welcome…and I'm sorry it's not what you wanted to hear."

"You don't happen to know how to find Alex do you?"

Sherry snapped a surprised look at Jake at his words. Michelle quickly shook her head at her nephew.

"No, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Alex and your father never knew each other, and Alex is just as bad as Albert. There are documents filed to Spencer that he was responsible for abducting and killing over twenty thousand people for his experiments in the South Seas."

"Sounds like he needs to be found and killed then," Jake snorted.

"I don't know if it is true or not, but I heard he has the same powers that Albert did," Michelle stated.

"How do you know all of this? The BSAA has been trying to scrounge up any little detail of Alex Wesker since his name showed up in Spencer's mansion six years ago after he was killed. How do you know so much about the Wesker Children besides Jake's mother?" Sherry inquired.

"The laboratory I worked in New York City underground was one of the biggest of Umbrella. Obviously, Laura knew a lot, but we both knew higher-ups that provided us with top secret information when we needed it. And in the twenty years I have been in hiding, I have met up with several Umbrella refugees from all over and from all kinds of different positions."

Jake shrugged. "Why hide when Umbrella has been in the ground for years? Who are you hiding from?"

Michelle gave a weak smile. "Other corporations like Umbrella who want to round us up like cattle to make us work for them…some of us have sold our souls to them, but most are just taken and never seen again. Of course, the BSAA have dismantled many of these corporations but some still exist. And then there is the fact that there is a worldwide effect to arrest any leftover Umbrella researchers responsible for the creation of any bioweapons. And now I fear that Neo-Umbrella will be coming after the rest of us. The Family has the power and the technology to find us even while we are hiding or under aliases."

"Did you make any bioweapons?" Jake asked, studying her closely, brows furrowing slightly.

Michelle lowered her eyes, closing them and then cleared her throat. "Yes Jake…your mother and I were both responsible for creating bioweapons while under Umbrella."

It was something he didn't want to hear. Jake looked away from her, his eyes going to one of the fancier salt water tanks full of brightly colored fish. He couldn't understand how his mother could have worked for Umbrella and helped create the bioweapons that wreaked havoc to this day. That wasn't the kind of person she was. Then again, it made sense on why his father became interested in his mother in the first place.

"I'm sorry, but you two should go," Michelle finally stated after a few minutes of tensed silence.

With no answer from Jake, Sherry nodded at the older woman, slowly rising from the couch. "Thank you for your time, Michelle. This really means a lot to us."

Jake's aunt was paranoid, and they had stayed longer than she would have liked, even if she was happy to see her nephew for the first time. But just as Jake was getting to his feet, he saw movement in his peripheral vision from the kitchen, and his heart leaped. Instinct whipped into action, and he grabbed Sherry and dove over the couch.

His aunt screamed as gunshots erupted in the apartment, a storm of them blazing through the room and striking their targets. Michelle got shot four, five, six times before collapsing, and more bullets were razing past, striking fish tanks with exploding force and causing cascades of water and glass to fall onto the floor.

Jake was cussing out loud even before the gunfire ceased. He rolled to his feet, but kept himself bunkered behind the couch, Sherry next to him. He could see his aunt dead on the floor, blood soaking into the carpet. Water was soaking the room as well, with live fish flipping and flopping and gasping for air. Two or three large tanks had been busted.

Jake couldn't believe it. Not even an hour ago had he promised his aunt he would take care of her, and he completely failed her. He held onto Sherry tightly, not wanting her to peek to see where the enemy was. He was trying to come up with a plan, but the shock of seeing his aunt dead in his failed attempt to protect her left his mind reeling.

"Son of Albert Wesker, stand up and face us."

The voice was that of a woman, with a French accent. Jake swallowed, anger boiling inside. He slowly rose up from behind the couch, Sherry following his moves, both holding their arms in the air.

"That's more like it, garcon."

There were two figures in the living room with assault rifles aimed at them. The woman was tall, long legged, and older. Her graying brown hair was up in a bun, and she wore a dark gray, slim fit mercenary suit. She had a few weapons and tools on her figure. A long knife ran the length of her thigh, and there was another sword on her back. A handgun was holstered at her hip, next to a pouch and a radio.

The male next to her wore a similar mercenary suit, only over his was a cloak made of a unique, dark material, with a hood over his head. His face was hidden from a gas mask that had blue eye sockets. He had an assault rifle aimed just like his partner, but had a handgun holstered on each side of his hip. There were knives on each of his thighs, and saw a bigger one slung on his lower back by his belt.

"What the fuck do you want?" Jake growled.

"Learn some manners, you little-"

"Vector, isn't that Sherry Birkin?" The woman mercenary interrupted.

"Yes, it's her, all grown up and trying to turn right what her father did wrong, apparently."

"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Sherry asked.

"Unless the Boss changes his mind, we want nothing to do with you. We are here for Albert Wesker's son. Lupo, do you want to take care of the girl, or you want me to?" Vector asked.

"Go ahead, mon ami."

"You better not put a Goddamn finger on her!" Jake snapped as the mercenary moved forth.

Vector only seemed to scoff at him. "Are we sure this is Albert Wesker's son? This punk has no manners."

"You scumbags just killed my aunt and you expect me to behave like a fucking gentleman?" Jake retorted.

"Sorry about that. It is strictly business," Lupo answered, but her tone was far from sincere.

Vector went to grab Sherry, but Jake shot out his arm with lightning speed, snatching the mercenary's wrist and knocking him into the couch with a gun put to his jaw. "I told you not to touch her."

The mercenary chuckled under his gas mask. "Oh, we got a big shot here."

Jake didn't have time to react as Vector kicked forward, knocking Jake to one knee and then unleashed a fury of martial arts that was so fast and violent, he couldn't even defend himself. Within seconds, Jake was flat down on the floor, pain wracking his body.

"Vector, we need him in one piece. Don't forget who we are working for. I don't want our heads offed because you had to give the boy a lesson."

"Sorry Wolf Mother," Vector instantly replied, backing off.

"Jake! Jake, are you alright?!"

"Fuck!" Jake was climbing to his feet.

He slammed into Vector again, and this time he was ready. The two started fighting hand to hand. Their martial arts matched almost right on, and the two struggled in a stalemate to overpower the other.

Sherry knew she had to help Jake, but as soon as she moved to pull her gun, Lupo had her rifle aimed right on her.

"I don't think so, Miss Birkin. You can leave here alive today if you leave now. But if you act now, I will kill you."

Sherry watched as Vector was starting to get the upper hand. He grabbed Jake into a choke lock. If he put Jake out, there was no way Sherry could fight the two mercenaries alone. She pulled that gun quickly, aiming straight at Vector. She heard Lupo pull that trigger, the gun blasting loud in the room. Just as she felt a hot stream go straight through her chest, pushing her forward, she pulled her own trigger.

The bullet struck Vector's arm. He yelped out, letting Jake go. The mercenary was stunned just long enough for Jake to counter with an elbow and spin around. Another bullet went through Sherry and she fired at Vector again. Vector moved quickly, missing the shot, and then he suddenly vanished in midair.

"What the hell?!" Jake hissed.

Sherry spun to Lupo, moving away to dodge her third shot. She unloaded three more rounds at Lupo, who got shot once but dodged the other two as she dove for cover behind the wall in the kitchen.

"Let's go! Jake! The window!" Sherry exclaimed.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Jake yelled, sprinting for the nearest window.

He busted it open, waving Sherry over. Below there was a full dumpster. Sherry didn't think and vaulted herself through the window to fall the three stories below. The full dumpster acted as a padded landing for her.

Just as Jake was about to go, a ghost grabbed him, slamming him into the wall. Jake couldn't see but a light outline of the camouflage Vector was using as a cloak, so each move he tried to make was instantly blocked. He felt himself being choked, and he kicked and kicked at that invisible body in front of him, his own hands clamping down on invisible forearms. He reached out for the window, trying to find something, and found a large shard of glass. He instantly stabbed into the force that was choking him and was set free.

Jake jumped through the window, falling down into the dumpster below. He and Sherry were running through the alleyway in seconds. They jumped on his bike and he turned it on. Roaring the engine, he sped out away from the apartment complex, and away from their attackers.

"We need to get to Chris's house and fast!" Sherry yelled.

"Are you kidding me?!"

They both were beaten pretty badly, Jake more so than Sherry. He sure as hell didn't want to show up looking like a beaten punk. Then again, he had to sit his pride aside this time because he knew Sherry was right.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked, speeding and not caring about breaking the law.

"I've been shot a couple times. It hurts like hell, but my body is healing," Sherry answered.

"I sure wish I had that healing of yours, super girl. Who the hell were those fuckers anyway?"

"I have no idea. Whoever they are, they are dangerous, and apparently working for someone just as dangerous. They wanted you, but they didn't say why."

"Their Boss wants me…whoever that is," Jake snorted. "Just what I need right now."

"Jake…your aunt…"

Her words made his heart skip. The adrenaline and struggling to get away of the apartment made him temporarily forget about his aunt. She was dead by those mercenaries' hands. He clenched his jaw, watching the road ahead as he sped back towards the Capital City. He would avenge her. The next time he saw those two, he would kill them. He was so angry, but also ashamed. He failed at his promise to keep her safe. Even though he had no idea something like that was going to happen. He still failed her.

"Yeah, well…payback's a bitch, and I'm gonna make sure they pay."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I hope it was still worth the read! I was going to put another section at the end of this chapter, but decided to move it to the next. So, I have decided to do something new in this chapter. I brought back Lupo and Vector from Operation Raccoon City. I know the game was a non-canon but they are still interesting characters to me. I was just going to create my own characters for this chapter at first, but I have to be in a certain mood to create characters otherwise I feel that I can't make them as real as I could. And I didn't particulary want to bring back Nicholai or Krauser for some reason. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy Lupo and Vector. I'm gonna change their story up a little to where they didn't almost kill Leon in Raccoon City, that they were just there to destroy evidence after Birkin turned into a monster and then Umbrella betrays them. All the others of Wolfpack are dead, and only Lupo and Vector are still alive. I feel that I must stress that this story obviously has some AU in it, as most of mine do. I usually stick as close to the real storyline as possible, with adding a pinch of AU here and there. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews/favs/alerts, I appreciate them and they inspire me to continue! You guys are the best! :) Nightfall only has six pages so far in the chapter I am working on, but hopefully it will be up soon, as well as my RE 6 parody story! Thanks for reading and reviewing guys, and have a wonderful week! :D**


	7. Chapter 6: Jake Must Die

**Chapter 6: Jake Must Die**

The undercover cop routine had endured for another hour, mostly in silence. Ada was beyond bored. She had the patience of any expert assassin, but found that her interest in this matter had slipped since she arrived to "babysit" Rurik for Evan.

In the reflection of the side view mirror down the street, she could make out some children playing in the front yard with some kind of terrier at their heels, their laughter droned out from being inside the car. She gave a faint smile at the sight. It took her back to younger, simpler days that seemed to have long ago been wounded by rising terror in the world.

"There are children playing in the neighborhood just down the road, and you still plan on going in there to kill Jake?"

"They will be out of the way. You know I never hurt children."

"And Jake isn't a kid in your eyes?"

HUNK heaved a sigh. "He never had the chance to be one. Besides, he has a much more important fate than all of us."

"Alright, what the hell is going on, Rurik? How the hell can Jake have an important fate if you are just going to kill him?"

"It doesn't matter. You are just going to have to trust me."

Ada laughed. "I never thought I would hear those words come from your mouth. Look, I have a job to do. Evan specifically told me to keep you from doing something drastic to Jake. That's why I am here babysitting you."

"It would be in your best interest to go along with me than Evan Fox."

"Is that a threat?"

Rurik slowly smiled. "No. I simply know what is coming, and Jake will serve great purpose dying now."

"Now you just sound crazy."

The hardened mercenary shrugged. "Do as you wish. Just know that I will not allow you to get in my way. I do, however, suggest you think about what you are doing siding with Evan Fox."

HUNK did have a point. There was never any good thing involved in working for Evan Fox. He was a dangerous, very intelligent man. No one could ever tell what he was thinking or planning or if he even was loyal to the Family. When Ada joked to him about having Samuel tied up and hidden somewhere by his hands, she was actually quite serious. She wouldn't put it past him to get under the Family's close knit skin and rip it away to let the blood pour out and spread apart. However, what bothered her more was not Samuel's disappearance that had the Family on high alert and dangerously about, it was Evan's secret project that he seemed so proud of that unsettled her.

Ada reluctantly decided to go with Rurik's plan. It seemed that her security and the benefits were better with him than with Evan. She still didn't feel that killing Jake was going to do any good for them. She tried to shake the uncertainties from her. It wasn't like her to dwell on someone's life like this. It wasn't as though Jake was important to her. Ada's feelings for Wesker had long ago perished years before her employment ended with him. Long before his virus had completely stripped him of what little humanity he even had. And she wasn't Jake's mother. It was just…

_Such a shame_, she thought.

The only good she could see killing Jake would prevent anyone getting a hold of that very special blood type that his father passed down to him. The Family knew who he really was even if the BSAA classified the truth in his relationship to Albert Wesker. And there was no stopping them from telling anyone else who could want a piece of Wesker's legacy.

She looked to Rurik, not surprised he was still watching the house with much effort. "What about Chris, Jill, Leon, and Claire? On top of Jake and Sherry, how are you going to be able to handle them all?"

"Chris and Jill aren't home."

Ada didn't bother asking how he knew that. Even though Leon's Jeep was the only vehicle in the driveway, that didn't meant that Chris and Jill could have been home or their own vehicles in the large garage.

"What if they get home before Jake arrives?"

Rurik finally tore his gaze from the house to give her a glare, one that made her smile because of how his brows furrowed. "It doesn't matter who is there. This may be my only chance to face Jake before all hell breaks loose. I have to do it here."

"Are you going to kill the others as well?"

"No. Jake is my only interest."

"I sure hope you know what you are doing," Ada said, sighing.

HUNK had no time to reply as a motorcycle sped past the black Camaro, catching their immediate attention. It slid into Chris's driveway, kicking up dirt from the lawn and then peeling on the concrete right behind Leon's Jeep. It was definitely Jake and Sherry, and they looked a little worse for wear. Jake stopped the bike just beside Leon's Jeep, and the two of them jumped off.

Jake was definitely beat up. Sherry had two blood spots on her chest that looked to be bullet wounds. Jake cast aside his own pain to check on Sherry. Rurik and Ada watched as he grabbed a hold of her, checking her over and seemingly asking her if she was alright. They saw Sherry nod in response and the two of them hurried into the Redfields' house without even knocking.

"Doesn't look like their date went so well," Ada said.

Rurik was getting his weapons ready. Ada reluctantly followed suit. It seemed that Rurik didn't care about what had happened to Jake and Sherry; he was already focusing at the job at hand. But surprisingly, she could see it in his eyes. There was hurt and uncertainty there. He paused at opening the door, eyes clouding in deep thought. Ada studied him in that moment, and was able to get a glimpse at just how much he truly cared about Jake. Probably more than what his real father could have ever shown.

HUNK shook out of his thoughts. "Alright, I'm going in. Stay out of my way."

"You don't look like you want to do this. Are you sure, Rurik?" Ada asked, looking him straight in the eye.

"Of course I don't want to do this," he growled. "But I have to. I need to save him."

She just didn't understand what he meant by that. The hardened mercenary opened the car door and got out. Ada opened her own door and also got out. He gave her a warning glare.

Ada shrugged, cocking her gun. "You might be a badass, Rurik, but trust me…you'll need help with Leon, Claire, and Sherry on top of Jake…especially Leon. And let's try and make it quick. If Chris and Jill show up, it will be a mess, and I hate being outnumbered."

"Fair enough. Let's get this done."

* * *

They barely made it into the kitchen before Leon and Claire were rushing into the same room, noticing the mess they were in from the stairs just in the back. Claire went straight to Sherry to see if she was alright, while Leon looked between them.

"What the hell happened to you two?" he asked.

"Are you guys alright?" Claire asked. "Let me go get the first aid kit."

"We're fine, don't bother," Sherry answered, sounding out of breath still. "My bullet wounds already healed and Jake-"

"I'm fine," he interrupted, his tone a bit agitated.

"Still a little too proud," Sherry sighed, finishing her sentence.

"Well, what happened? You said you were going to take care of Sherry!" Leon demanded.

"Hey, I had no fucking idea this was going to happen," Jake rounded.

Before a fight could break out, Sherry decided to cut to the chase. "We went to see Jake's aunt, his only living relative for some information on Jake's mother and his past. We got attacked by these two highly skilled mercenaries. They killed her and we barely got away. They wanted Jake alive and someone hired them to get him."

"Did you guys get a good look at them? Any clue as to who they are working for?" Claire inquired.

"Ya, one was an older woman named Lupo and the other was a man called Vector. We couldn't get a good look at him because he wore a gas mask. No idea who they are working for or why they want Jake," Sherry answered.

"There's only one other man I know that wears a mercenary suit that similar to the Vector guy, gas mask and all…but it wasn't him, I would have recognized his voice," Jake grumbled.

Leon immediately called up Hunnigan. "Hunnigan, hey, I need for you to look up any leads or information on mercenaries by the names of Lupo and Vector. Can you do that for me?"

_"No problem. It may take a bit, but I will get back to you ASAP. Why, is everything alright?"_

"Sherry and Jake got attacked by them while out at his aunt's. They were barely able to escape. I need to know everything you can find. They are working for someone who wants Jake, and we need to figure out who they are."

_"Copy that. I will get right on it. I'll call you back."_

"Thanks," Leon answered and hung up.

"Maybe I should call Chris. The BSAA might have some leads on them." Claire got her cell phone out to dial her brother.

"Oh c'mon, don't call him! The last thing I want is for him to come running over here to be in charge over everything. He probably hasn't got a clue who these two are. These aren't you average mercenaries, these two were far better than that. I doubt the BSAA has met up with many of their type," Jake complained.

"Jake, what's wrong?" Sherry asked, shaking her head slightly. "I thought you and Chris made amends?"

"We did. But that doesn't mean I'm quite ready to be all chummy with the guy and work alongside him. We got our own things going on, and it should stay that way."

"I think trying to find out who murdered your aunt and who wants to take you alive is a little more important than that," Sherry retorted.

Jake looked away, clenching his jaw. "Well…yeah, but-"

"She does have a point, my boy."

The words made him freeze in place, the words he were about to speak left forgotten on his tongue. He recognized the voice immediately, and turned to face where it came from. He was shocked to see his old mentor there. The man who had took him in as his own son and trained him how to fight and survive on his own for years stood before him, at the edge of the entrance to the kitchen.

Jake's shock quickly boiled into anger. Rurik Ginovaef was here to kill him, just as he had tried years ago in his betrayal. He had killed everyone else in his squad that worked for him. He had given Jake the scar on his face before he was barely able to escape alive. He was pointing a gun right at him.

Leon, Claire, and Sherry quickly aimed their own weapons, with Jake not moving much at the moment. He was too busy glaring daggers at his old mentor, mind racing with emotions and thoughts.

"Oh my God! Leon, Claire! He's HUNK! He's the man who shot my father to get the G-Virus!"

"I thought he looked familiar. Used to seeing him with a gas mask on," Claire stated, eyes sharp on the enemy.

"Yes, I'm quite sorry about that Miss Birkin," Rurik answered coolly, eyes never leaving Jake. "It was my mistake. I should have made sure he was dead before I left. Otherwise, he would not have turned into that crazy monster."

Sherry jerked a step forward, tears filling her eyes. "It's your fault he turned into a monster! You killed my father, you bastard!"

"Now, I wouldn't push the blame that far. Your father was a monster on the inside anyway. His transformation just showed his true colors in all the evil he ever did. I do not blame you for anything your father did. And those words also apply to you, Jake."

"Bullshit, then why did you try and kill me back then?" Jake growled.

"I never tried to kill you. The Family wanted you alive. I just wanted you to think I was trying to kill you so you would run for it. I let you go, Jake. I never wanted them to get you."

"And you expect me to believe you?" Jake scoffed.

"I would put your gun down in any case, HUNK. You are outnumbered," Leon stated.

"You would be wise to stay out of this. I'm only here for Jake."

"I'm not going to let you hurt Jake, so you better listen to Leon," Sherry warned.

They were hit from behind with great speed and accuracy. Claire and Sherry dropped to the hard tiled floor of the large kitchen. Leon was barely able to block his own attack, but upon recognizing the face and getting caught by surprise, he went down as well. Ada aimed two different handguns to the three of them on the floor. Jake tried to go after her to protect Sherry, but as he turned to face Ada, HUNK had shortened the distance between them and struck him down as well.

"Ada?! What are you doing here? What is this?" Leon asked, shocked.

"I'm sorry, Leon. I'll explain later."

Jake got to his feet, refocusing on Rurik with hatred. "I'm gonna kill you, you fucking traitor."

"I see your mouth hasn't changed. Fine…let us fight hand to hand then. I want to see how much you have learned since I taught you."

"Fine by me, asshole."

"Jake, no!" Sherry exclaimed.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I got this," Jake replied, a dark smirk forming on his face that seemed to mirror his father's.

Rurik chuckled. "I've always admired your spirit, my boy, but I always warned that your cockiness would someday get you killed. Well, today will be that day."

"Bring it."

* * *

Chris could not believe his eyes. The footage seemed to come straight from a monster horror film crafted up from Hollywood. The conference room was tensely silent as he, Jill, Rebecca, Barry, Carlos, and Billy watched on in absolute shock. There were other BSAA officers of higher command in the room also. The footage was being sent straight from the Pentagon where Patricia had departed to do deal with.

"This is the biggest BOW ever to be created. How could something like this have been hidden so well?" Rebecca asked, eyes never leaving the footage.

"And then to just be released into the ocean like this. If we don't kill it now, we could lose it anywhere," Billy added, annoyed.

"We need to figure out where the hell it came from. Who's responsible for…for this," Barry said.

"I think we should worry about killing it first, and then go from there," Carlos snorted, arms crossed.

The monster was beyond huge. Much of its long, serpentine body was in the ocean, making measurements impossible at the moment. The head was as big well over four hundred feet long in itself, with teeth the size of sedans. The BOW was a strange mix of a moray eel and some kind of snake. The head was almost just like that of a moray eel, with the massive coils of its body being more rounded like a serpent's. It had some unique fins along the body of what they could see that helped it swim, with a large crest atop its head and going down its back to make it look like it came right out of a mythological book of sea monsters. The colors of the body seemed to shimmer under the glare of its water soaked scales, being a unique mix of green, blue, and brown. The yellow eyes, huge and wide glistened with intelligence and a very dangerous aggression. The sounds it made were nothing ever heard of, sounding like a mix between the hissing of a crocodile and a high pitched yowl of a cat.

For its size, the creature could move exceptionally fast, especially in the water. It was just a couple miles out the coast of eastern Japan, and the Japanese Army, as well as the Eastern Branch of the BSAA were having trouble with the monster. It would dive into the water to dodge missiles, its ongoing body of serpentine coils seemingly cutting through the water in massive amounts. And then it would come up, spraying water out of its massive, gaping mouth full of long, slender fangs. The water was sprayed at such high velocity and force that jets would get blown from the sky and ships would get turned right over. And that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. Whenever the colossal BOW would get hit enough times, making it angry and constrict its body in the pain, an immense electrical shock would rip across the water in a two mile radius, some of the pulses having enough power to blow the ships and submarines into pieces, while others simply destroyed the ships' mainframes to lose all functions, making them sitting ducks.

"Can you imagine what that shock radius could do on land?" Jill asked, watching as ships were blown into fiery messes. The pulse shock even caused thousands of dead fish to float to the top of the water.

"What are they calling this one?" Rebecca asked.

"The Leviathan," Chris answered. In all these years, whenever he thought he had seen it all, something like this comes up. Chris just couldn't understand why the world was coming to this. It seemed that no matter how much they did, how much they sacrificed, it did nothing to stop the war on bioterrorism. This monster may have been a titanic weapon, but it could still slip into the ocean and disappear in minutes, and they couldn't have that.

"You think this is Neo-Umbrella's work?" Barry asked.

Jill shook her head. "Surely not. This thing had to have taken many years to create. Longer than what Neo-Umbrella has been around."

"That doesn't mean the Family has nothing to do with it. I won't rule them out. But until we can kill this thing and do some research, we have shit to go by," Chris added.

"If we can kill it."

Everyone glared at Carlos for his remark. The ex-UBCS soldier gave a sheepish smile and got quiet after that. He received a punch in the arm by Billy who stood nearby.

"I just hope Trish will have some answers when she gets back," Chris sighed.

"Well, I better get back to the Medical Department," Rebecca said, no longer being able to watch the footage. "Let me know if we find out anything."

"I'll walk you back, doll face," Billy said, walking with her.

"I better get back to the Weapons Department myself. Carlos, don't you have some trucks to be working on?" Barry added.

"Yeah, yeah," Carlos heaved, heading for the door with the older, retired soldier.

Chris continued to watch the aerial footage of the Leviathan, his mind completely torn on what this could mean. He felt so emotionally drained once more just watching it. He felt Jill put a hand on his arm, and he looked to her. That beautiful smile reassured him. She knew it took a lot out of him just to watch something this horrible and not be able to do anything about it.

Chris leaned in and kissed her. "We should probably return to our own duties."

"I know Trish brought this all up, but you should still take your break. I can't have you working like this when you aren't completely healed from your last mission."

"I can't. Not when we have a job to do. I was gone for six months from that head injury, lost to who I even was. I need to make up for that. And I can't rest knowing that the people who did all of this are still out there. And this Leviathan thing? Who knows what that's going to bring."

"You can't force yourself like this anymore. I just…don't want anything to happen to you."

Chris smiled, and Jill took it in. He hadn't smiled much since returning from his mission in China. His body and spirit had been broken by that point yet again. Jill admired his strength and willpower to go on, but could see how it was starting to take a toll on him.

He kissed her again, and took her hands in his. "Jill…I promise…I promise that I will soon retire. I had planned on doing so with Piers to take my place. And when I do, we can start a family."

Jill slowly nodded. Chris wrapped his arms around her and they embraced. Jill relaxed in his hold, closing her eyes. Their embrace lasted for a long moment before a beep alerted them from Chris's pocket. Puzzled, Chris withdrew his phone and opened it. His eyes widened and he cursed.

"What's wrong?"

"Claire's in trouble! She just sent me an emergency text! We gotta go now!"

Husband and wife immediately headed for the exit of the conference room, running the hallways to escape the large base and head for home. Chris knew they had to hurry. Claire wouldn't send him something like this unless it was urgent. He just hoped she would be okay by the time they reached the house. He had no idea what could be going on. He knew that Leon would have been with Claire right now, so the FOS agent could be in danger as well. He and Leon had their differences, but Chris couldn't trust anyone better to protect his younger sister.

_Just hang in there, Claire! We're coming!_

* * *

The brawl had turned brutal quickly. Leon, Claire, and Sherry stayed where they were on their knees in the kitchen with guns to their back from Ada as they watched Jake and HUNK fight it out. The two fought very similar with their powerful mixed martial arts. The kitchen was large, but by how they were slamming each other around, it didn't take long for either one to crash into some stacked dishes and knock them to the floor to break into pieces or into glass windowed hutches and shatter them.

Blood was released in this fight not long after it started. And as blood hit the tiled floor in drops, the two men didn't even take notice of their wounds. Jake surprised Rurik with his swift blocking and counters. However, his old mentor still proved to be the more experienced fighter in certain areas. This didn't break Jake's spirit at all, and kept going, fueled by anger and hurt from the past.

It was hard just to watch, not just from the ferocity, but from how quick the two men even moved. Each punch Jake swung, one after the other, was struck by Rurik's own arm keeping the pace. Jake kicked one powerful leg out, catching his mentor in the knee and knocking him down. Another quick kick struck HUNK's face and he fell against the kitchen counter. Jake kept the heat on, pursuing him immediately, like a tiger seeing blood. Rurik had already recovered and as Jake caught up to him against the counter, the older man grabbed ahold of the granite top and vaulted his legs out. Two swift kicks knocked Jake's air right out of him, and HUNK grabbed the downed son of Wesker to slam his head into a cabinet.

He let the boy drop to the floor. This moment to let Jake recover cost him, as Jake recovered more quickly than Rurik thought. Jake slid his body around on the floor, kicking up as he vaulted to his feet and striking a hard boot right into HUNK's face and knocking him back. As he landed, he went to Rurik and Jake managed a strong punch to his opponent's kidney.

Rurik ignored the sharp pain, his body long ago molded into a hardened warrior. He grabbed Jake's next swing, and pulled him forth, kneeing the kid in the gut. And by surprise, Jake countered in Rurik's hold, twisting his arm around and almost snapping it. He would have had Rurik moved in time to flip himself over Jake's back. He used the momentum to throw Jake over him, slamming him into the floor.

Jake was on his feet in seconds, eyes glaring straight into Rurik. Blood ran down his face from a cut he had received sometime during the fight. Rurik felt blood seeping on his own body but ignored it. He couldn't believe how much Jake had improved on his fighting skills since he last taught him. Even in this dark moment, he was proud.

"Play time's over you son of a bitch," Jake growled.

Something suddenly changed in Jake. His eyes darkened, and Rurik could suddenly feel his anger. He wasn't the only one who noticed it. Jake darted forth, slamming into HUNK with hard force. Rurik had to fight to keep his attacks at bay with blocks and counters, but soon he felt his back hit the counter near the sink, and it caused him to slip up. Jake took this split second mistake on his old mentor's part and wrapped both hands around the man's neck.

The pressure put on his throat was dangerously serious. Rurik hit Jake hard several times, but it was as though his old student was numb to it, too focusing on killing him. Even as experienced as he was, Rurik could not keep this death grip from killing him.

"Ada, aren't you going to help your partner?" Leon growled, glaring up at her.

"Nice try, Leon. I'm not letting my guard down. Besides, if Rurik gets himself killed it's his own damn fault. I didn't want Jake dead, he did."

Sherry was appalled by this side of Jake she hadn't seen before. It was though a light had been switched. She did not like the look in his eyes as he choked Rurik. It reminded her too much of his father, and it scared her.

"Jake! Stop!" she yelled.

If it got through, she couldn't tell. But Rurik finally was able to break away from his impending death by drawing something from his pocket. He stabbed whatever it was into Jake's neck, and it was enough to make Jake let him go. He yelled out in pain, grabbing his neck. Rurik just about collapsed as air reached him again, and he was choking on it.

"Jake!" Sherry yelled, not knowing what it was that Rurik stabbed into his neck.

Jake was still in pain, but he was able to shake it off long enough to grab Rurik again and slam him right back into the counter. By this time, HUNK had his head back, and unleashed a swift, powerful combo on Jake that was able to take him down.

Jake again yelled out, but it wasn't from Rurik's combo. He got up again, putting a hand on the side of his neck. His head was pounding. He wasn't done yet. He saw Rurik reaching for something else, and Jake rushed forward, grabbing the mercenary's left arm and snapping it. It was Rurik's turn to shout in pain. Jake kicked high, striking him in the chest and making Rurik slide back and crash into the counter.

"What the hell was that?" Jake asked, still holding his neck.

Rurik took a moment to catch his breath, feeling pain and adrenaline course through his body like a stampede. "I'm sorry, Jake. I didn't want to do this. But it must be done. I hope you understand."

Before anything else could be said, Rurik aimed his pistol with his right hand. Jake didn't even flinch, even though his heart skipped. He had stared down Death many times from the barrel of a gun. But when that shot was fired, and he felt the pain strike right through his body, he knew something wasn't right.

"No!" Sherry screamed.

They heard the front door crash open, and within seconds Chris and Jill were rushing into the kitchen with weapons aimed. Rurik re-aimed the gun to them, but Ada took advantage first. She fired two shots, both knocking the pistols right out of their hands.

"Rurik, let's go!" Ada yelled, tossing a flash grenade. She looked to Leon. "I'm sorry, I'll explain later."

"Ada, wait!"

Just as Chris and Jill were withdrawing more weapons to engage them, and Leon and Claire taking advantage of the backup, the flash grenade blew. The flash was intense, and stunned them just long enough for Rurik and Ada to escape.

Sherry bolted straight for Jake as the others recovered. He was gripping his chest and was bleeding heavily. She heard Chris cursing and trying to go after the enemy but was stopped by Leon. Claire was the one to yell at them all to say that Jake was in desperate need of help.

"Damn it! Jill, call Rebecca now! Tell her to get over here and bring her best!" Chris ordered.

"Are you kidding me? We need to get him out of here!" Leon rounded.

Jake heard their voices becoming fainter and fainter. He felt like he was standing but soon realized that Sherry was holding him up and was losing grip. She was yelling at him, but he couldn't comprehend the words. He collapsed onto the floor, the world spinning and pain engulfing him.

His hearing returned after crumbling to the floor, but the voices were still faint, and he could hear ringing in his head. He felt that his hand was soaked and looked. There was blood gushing from his chest and he tried to tell Sherry that it didn't look so good.

He realized he was dying. He felt some kind of transition, some kind of pull trying to come over his body, but instinct and his own stubbornness was struggling to keep him alive. The last thing he saw before the world seemingly disappeared was Sherry looking over him. He reached that blood soaked hand up to stroke her cheek.

* * *

"Jake! Jake, please answer me!" Sherry was crying. She shook his limp body, begging for him to come back.

She watched him die right before her eyes. There was blood all over her face from where he had reached up to touch her before slipping away. He couldn't die, he just couldn't. He was too important. Not just to the world, but to her.

Chris and Jill were in shock. The only son of Albert Wesker was dead, just like that. Leon stood by as Claire tried to pull Sherry away to comfort her. The younger woman only shook off her mother figure and best friend to still cling to Jake's body and cry. Claire stood, tears coming from her own eyes and she looked to Leon. He nodded silently and stepped over to Sherry.

He gingerly took the girl and pulled her away. Sherry finally collapsed and threw her arms around Leon, crying hysterically. It was the worse they had ever seen her cry since they have known her. Sherry had grown up after Claire's example, and thus had become a strong woman even at a young age. If there had ever been any tears they were silent. But now she was absolutely heartbroken.

Leon held her, comforting her while Claire rubbed Sherry's back. Chris could only stare at Jake's body, putting the blame on himself yet again. He wanted to shrug it off. Jake was his nemesis's son, he should not have cared about him. But he did. Jake was not like Wesker. He deserved to live. He deserved to have a chance.

Jill noticed something on the floor by smeared blood. She kneeled to scoop it up and stood back up next to Chris. It was a syringe, but was completely unmarked. She had no idea what it was.

"What do you think this could be?" Jill asked, showing the syringe to Chris.

He took it into his hands, but after his inspection, only shook his head. "No clue. We will have to turn it in to Rebecca."

"What is it?" Leon asked, relieved that Sherry was starting to quiet down, though her body was quivering in despair.

Chris showed the FOS agent, and Leon's brows rose. "That has to be what HUNK stabbed into Jake's neck."

"Did it have anything in it?" Jill asked.

"I don't know, I-"

"Guys!" Claire exclaimed, pointing to Jake's body.

The sight was enough to startle them and make them take steps back. Jake was moving! He was alive and moving on the floor. Sherry moved away to see what it was. Seeing Jake slowly sit up made her gasp, and she pushed away from Leon.

"Oh my God! Jake! You're alive!"

Before she could run to him, a strong hand grabbed her wrist and prevented her from going to him. Chris pulled her back, eyes wide and looking at Jake. The bullet wound was gone, and Jake was rising to his feet weakly.

"Son of a bitch, I hurt," Jake groaned, checking himself over, but still slightly in a daze like he had just woke up. He felt for the bullet hole in his chest, and then looked up to them in surprise. "Where the hell is the hole?"

Her attempts to break free from Chris ended quite suddenly. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Neither could anyone else. His eyes were no longer the beautiful blue she had fallen for. They now mimicked his father's eyes. The reddish gold cat eyes looked to them for answers. Sherry tried to tell herself that at least he was still alive. But even then, his eyes unsettled her deeply.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, that was a long chapter, phew! I worked really hard on this! I think I scrapped drafts and rewrote it like three times before I was satisfied with it. Hope you all enjoyed it! I was going to end it when Jake "died", but decided to ease up on some of the cliffhangers for you guys lol. Hey, but the story is just getting started! ;) I think the fight between Jake and Rurik was the hardest to write this time. Sometimes I have no problem writing fight scenes, and other times I do lol. As for the BOW Leviathan, I created it a while back but never had a chance to use it in a story until now. I have wrote a few fanfics that I never posted to FFN, and it came out of one of those lol. I love created my own BOWs sometimes, so fun! :D Anyway, thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favs this week, and I just really appreciate all the support from you guys! It gives me so much inspiration! And don't working, the RE6 parody is coming, as well as a new chapter for Nightfall as soon as I can get out of writer's block for it...ugh hate it! Have a great weekend everyone and stay warm! ;)**


	8. Chapter 7: The Chase

**Chapter 7: The Chase**

The black Camaro sped down the suburban roads, the engine powerfully roaring under the hood. Ada shifted the manual gear with ease, her eyes darting from the road in front of her to the rearview mirror. They weren't being pursued, but Ada made sure to keep the car going. She was heading back to Evan's underground laboratory. Rurik needed the medical attention whether she thought he deserved it or not.

"What the hell happened back there, Rurik? You're lucky Jake didn't kill you," Ada growled. She had had enough of his game, and would now be demanding answers. She took a moment to curse Evan for making her babysit.

Glancing over at him, Ada could see him holding his arm as it started to swell. She wasn't quite sure, but it looked broken in at least two places to her. The wrist was definitely broken. The older mercenary's face was wincing from the pain, and she watched as he snapped his elbow back into place with a popping crack. He groaned from the pain, face reddening, and then let out a long, exasperated breath.

"I am so proud of that boy," he weakly chuckled, only to grimace from more pain.

"What did you inject him with?" Ada demanded.

"Is it important?" Rurik rounded.

"I swear Rurik, if you don't answer me I'm knocking your ass out and taking you straight back to Redfield. Or would you rather me tell Evan what you did?" It was rare for Ada to lose her cool, but she was tired of his bullshit.

"I injected him with the same virus his father had!"

Ada slammed on the break. The transmission stalled and died in the sudden action from her forgetting about the clutch. Rurik barely caught himself from flying into the dashboard with his right arm as the tires squealed across the asphalt to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. They were still in in the suburbs, but in a smaller, not as quant neighborhood near the interstate that would take them straight into D.C. But Ada didn't care where they were and what traffic she interrupted.

"You did what?!"

HUNK decided to get a little bitter. "What the hell are you doing? Let's get back to base. I will tell you everything there. If you've forgotten, my fucking arm is broken!"

Ada had subconsciously put the car into park. She reached across the seats and grabbed a hold of Rurik, slamming him back against the passenger window. Their eyes locked in a fiery battle as Ada held him there.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Rurik snorted. "You'll understand all too soon."

"Don't make me break your other arm. You turned Jake into the one thing he didn't want to be. That virus is going to strip him of every last bit of his humanity!"

Rurik clenched his jaw for a moment. "How do you know? Why do you care?"

"Because I saw what it did to Albert you son of a bitch," Ada snapped. "Jake doesn't deserve it!"

"Albert was already a monster before he had the virus," Rurik growled.

"Yeah, but I had to watch for years as it turned him into something far worse. You obviously don't give a shit about Jake, otherwise you would have never done this to him."

Rurik looked away, scowling. "I had to do it. You'll soon understand why. There's a threat coming our way, Ada. Jake is the only one who could save this world. I gave him a fighting chance."

"No, what you gave him was a time bomb to lose his sanity." Ada shoved Rurik away and slid back down into her seat. She stepped on the clutch and ignited the engine of the car. The Camaro rumbled back to life, and Ada shifted the gear to head out.

"If I didn't know better, some of your old feelings are resurfacing," Rurik said, holding onto his broken arm once more.

Ada denied it. "No, I just would rather there not be another Albert running around."

"Well, Alex Wesker is still out there. You don't seem so worried about him."

"Yeah, probably because he hasn't made any kind of appearance and hasn't tried to destroy the world. You know what, Rurik? Jake is going to seek revenge for what you did. And I hope he gets what he wants. You deserve it."

HUNK chuckled weakly. "If I die by his hands that will be fine by me. I would rather die by his hands than someone else's."

Ada rolled her eyes. "And what if he turns into a monster? Are you going to be proud of him then?"

"The virus won't change Jake. He won't let it. He's strong."

"Stronger than Albert?" Ada scoffed.

"Albert embraced the virus's power. Jake will not."

There was a long moment of silence after his words. Ada was taking the exit to get onto I-270, heading straight into D.C now. She let out a long, unsettled sigh. "I sure hope you're right, Rurik."

* * *

There was something definitely wrong. It wasn't just by the way Sherry and the others were staring at him, like he had come back from the dead. There was no hole in his chest, but there was blood all over him. As Jake thought it over, he did remember dying. He was disoriented, and his head was pulsing in pain. He felt drunk, and not in the good way. The world seemed to speed up and slow down as he tried to move.

He winced, putting a hand to his forehead. The pain almost buckled him over, and his ears were ringing. He was suddenly aware of the intense aroma of blood, so concentrated that he could taste it on his tongue and making him gag.

"Jake! Oh my God! Are you alright?!" Sherry was yelling, her voice pounding in his ears as she ran over to him. She grabbed a hold of his arm.

He didn't answer her at first. He couldn't understand why his body was feeling alien to him. His heart was pounding. Even though he felt drunk, he also felt jittery. Jake was sure it was his body trying to recover from dying. What else could it be? Then again, how was he alive now?

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

Sherry glanced back at Chris, Leon, Jill, and Claire for a moment. It took her an disconcerted breath to gather her words. "Jake…he killed you…but he first injected you…with…"

Jake narrowed his eyes at her. "With what?"

"You better look in the mirror," Chris stated. There was a disturbed look in his eyes that Jake didn't like at all.

Jake glared at Chris before moving the short distance over to the wall that hung a cracked mirror. The mirror had to have been broken during Jake's fight with Rurik. He moved into view of the reflection, his face fractured into an imperfect image. Blood was trailing down his temple, reaching his scar, but Jake soon noticed something much direr out of place. His eyes, they weren't his. They weren't blue, they weren't _human_. Red and gold cat eyes were staring back at him. His sight had been bothering him, but Jake had thought it was from the piercing pain in his skull. His eyes were even slightly glowing red as he practically choked on air. His mind was reeling at the sight of his reflection. He immediately thought back to Chris's history lesson on his father and the pictures he saw. He was absolutely nauseous. It was like he was staring right at his father. And within seconds this primal anger erupted. Jake slammed his fist into the mirror. The mirror was shattered instantly, but Jake was not expecting his whole arm to go straight through the wall. Jake punched the wall again, destroying more of it. He tore the broken mirror out from the hole in the wall to drop it to the tiled floor. He stomped on the mirror repeatedly, sending shards of glass all over, his strength easily cracking several ceramic tiles of the kitchen floor.

They were yelling his name, but he wouldn't listen. The pain in his head was starting to spike, and he suddenly stopped to grab his cranium. Sherry was beside him in that instant, her voice barely reaching through the pounding of blood within his head.

"Jake, calm down! We can fix this!"

He just couldn't understand why Rurik would do this. This betrayal was far worse than the first. It was like he knew Jake didn't want to become like his father, and he went out of his way to make sure he did.

_That fucking son of a bitch. I'm gonna make him pay!_

Jake shook out of his throbbing pain and headed for the door, tearing out of Sherry's hold easily. Leon and Jill looked ready for anything, unsure of Jake's behavior. Claire walked over to Sherry as Jake stormed for the front door. Chris blocked his path, but remained calm even with his worst fears trying to surface.

"Jake, you need to calm down. There's no telling how this virus is going to affect you. We need to take you into Central to run some tests. We will catch HUNK, I promise you."

"There's no time for me to be your fucking lab rat," Jake snapped. "I'm going out there on my own, and I'm gonna find him. And I'm gonna kill him. I'll make sure he squeals some answers too before I finish him off. So step aside, Redfield."

Jill looked to Chris. Her husband wasn't moving. He was staring straight at Jake. He was staring directly into those familiar eyes that haunted him. But even up against his greatest fears, Chris Redfield never bowed.

"Jake, Chris is right. We need to get you checked out. I'm worried," Sherry stated.

"I'm fine," Jake answered firmly, barely looking over his shoulder at her.

Chris wasn't budging. Jill touched his arm. "Chris?"

Jake wasn't waiting around. He shoved past Chris and was out of the kitchen, heading for the open front door. Sherry couldn't believe he was going without her. She ran after him. Leon sighed and went to go after her, but was stopped by Chris.

"Let him go. There's no way we can stop him. I don't want to risk angering him further. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Are you kidding me?" Leon snapped. "He's a liability; I can't have him running loose in D.C."

"Leon's right. We should go after him," Claire agreed. She looked to Leon. "Any idea where Ada could be going?"

"It's Ada," Leon snorted sarcastically.

Claire rolled her eyes and headed for the door quickly.

"So that was the real Ada?" Jill asked as she, Chris, and Leon followed after Claire.

"Yeah," Leon answered, noticing Chris's glare. "But it's unlike her to do something like this. She even used to be enemies with HUNK.

He was going to explain further as they stepped outside the front door but Claire hushed him. Jake was on his bike, but Sherry was talking to him. They couldn't hear her words, but they knew she was trying to coax him to stay. Jake looked as though he was starting to calm down from her words, his eyes falling to the grass. His expression seemed to slowly turn from anger to uncertainty, and he definitely was hanging on her words.

"Looks like Sherry is getting his head straight," Jill said.

"Good," Chris sighed.

But that motorcycle fired up anyway. Sherry held onto the right handlebar, as well as his hand. She was determined not to let him leave. She glared at him.

"Jake! Stop! You aren't thinking this through. Let us help you!"

Jake grabbed her arm, and for a moment he pulled her in. He was hugging her, and he held her close as the bike idled. He whispered something into her ear. And before anything else could happen, he suddenly shoved her away. Sherry fell on her butt, and she stared after Jake as he sped the bike backwards into the street, spun the rear wheel around in a one-eighty, and raced out following the Camaro's skid marks.

* * *

The motorcycle was at full speed zooming down the suburban roads. Jake weaved around any cars that came in his path. He knew his chances of catching up to them were slim, and so he pushed the bike to go even faster, the engine deafening to his ears. Ada and Rurik had to have been returning to the city. He didn't know D.C or its surrounding cities well enough yet for shortcuts or many of the roads, but Jake was going to bet they took the closest interstate that led straight into D.C from these suburbs. He knew that would have been I-270. Redfield lived in the suburbs of Gaithersburg, Maryland. The eight lane highway would take him straight into the capital city within twenty minutes if traffic wasn't a bitch.

As he was hitting the bypass well out from the neighborhoods, he caught something in his rearview mirror. A charcoal gray Hummer H3 was right on his tail. A glance over his shoulder was able to make him realize it was Vector and Lupo. Lupo was the one driving the large vehicle. Jake didn't have time to wonder how they found him. As much as he wanted to finish business with them, he knew he had to catch up with Ada and Rurik first. He sped up once hitting the highway, the Hummer keeping close.

"Real subtle assholes!" Jake yelled, speeding the motorcycle up more.

By the way Lupo talked back at his aunt's apartment, whoever they worked for didn't want Jake harmed or killed, so this gave him some slack to focus more on the road ahead. The highway was crowded with vehicles in the four lane heading straight into D.C. Jake looked all over, speeding well over the limit to try and find the black Camaro. There were semi-trucks with trailers that blocked much of his view.

Then he saw it! It was a quarter a mile ahead of him in the farthest right lane. Jake locked on and sped the bike up to the highest the engine would turn. He glanced in his rearview mirror to see the Hummer not far behind. For such big rigs, the luxury SUVs could produce some speed, though it was no match for Jake's Yamaha YZF R1. If Jake wanted to leave them in the dust he could, especially using all this traffic to his advantage since the motorcycle had much more maneuverability than the Hummer. But Jake didn't care about them, he wanted that black Camaro.

It didn't take him long to catch up with the Camaro. He was sure this was the one, but had to drive up beside it to make sure. The motorcycle easily slid up to the driver's side, and it was there he saw the surprised faces of Ada and Rurik. Jake aimed his pistol straight at Ada's face. She slammed on the brakes just as he fired the shot. The bullet struck the side-view mirror; it crumbled and started dangling in the drive.

Ada slowed down, getting behind Jake and then swerving the Camaro all the way to the far left lane, cutting some vehicles off. Horns were blaring, and soon Jake was hearing sirens. A cop was coming up fast, probably from his speeding. The white Ford Crown Victoria had its lights on as well, heading straight for him. Jake cursed, knowing he had to finish this quick if he was going to get away. He sped the bike for the Camaro, keeping the cop in his sights behind him.

As the cop car came up beside him though, the Hummer slammed into the rear. Jake watched in alarm as the Hummer shoved the Crown Victoria with powerful ease right into the back of a semi-truck trailer, completely crushing the car and probably the person inside. The Hummer broke loose, and the totaled cop car swerved a sharp left. So sharp, it quickly flipped and started rolling straight for Jake.

"Shit!"

His only escape was sliding to the left under the trailer of another semi-truck. Jake lowered his head down to the bars of his bike and darted to the left. The mesh of metal missed him by inches, shards of glass and chunks of metal going all over.

He got out from under the trailer as soon as it was safe. He glared at the Hummer long enough to watch it brake to get behind him once more. He did not want them drawing unwanted attention.

Ada was now way ahead in the Camaro. Jake cursed once more, speeding up. He felt another wave of pain wracking through his skull, making his eyesight warp. He winced, but fought through it as he swerved through traffic to catch up. He was losing color quickly in his sight, and soon it was all red. He shook his head but the pain wouldn't subside.

Jake aimed his pistol to the Camaro directly ahead. He fired multiple rounds, two hitting the bumper and two shattering the back glass. The Camaro veered away, tires squealing. Jake saw it heading for an exit. Ada barely made the exit from the sudden decision as well as her speed. The Camaro's side scraped the concrete wall as it left the highway. Jake instantly tried to follow her, knowing he only had seconds to be able to dart across multiple lanes with heavy traffic. As he was pulling to the right to follow behind them, the Hummer sped up beside him, nearly side swiping him. Jake instinctively pulled away from the steel beast. They herded him away from the exit, and he missed it all together.

"Goddamn it! Alright, assholes, you wanna this game, I'm all for it."

Jake aimed his pistol, firing a single shot that blew out the front left tire of the Hummer. The SUV let off, and Jake sped ahead. He knew he should leave them to try and catch up with Ada and Rurik, even though his chances of catching up were slim. But then he felt a shock of electricity pulse through him and the motorcycle. His bike instantly died. Jake barely caught his balance as the bike slowed down. Cursing, he slid the bike to a stop sideways to face back towards the oncoming Hummer. Vector was hanging out the window with a pulse gun that killed his bike. He quickly slipped back inside. Jake aimed at the windshield and fired several more times. He saw the windshield crack, and after that his vision of them was obstructed from the cracked glass.

He soon realized just after that last round, the Hummer started speeding straight toward him, gaining speed when it was initially slowing down. Jake had no time to think of why or how, because the Hummer was heading straight for him. He wanted to move but he was sitting on his bike, and he had no time. His last reaction was to shield himself from the collision, and so he covered his head with one arm, and stuck the other out as if to stop the three ton vehicle.

The Hummer crashed into him, but it was like slamming into a brick wall. The Hummer's hood, front bumper, and grille crumbled against Jake's figure. The frame bended and warped and in that instant, the SUV flipped over him and landed with a scraping thud on its roof.

Jake had definitely felt the collision, and he felt like he had been hit by a bus, but he was still standing. He was still alive. He looked at his arms and hands over, stunned. There was not even a scratch on him. His bike didn't fare so well though. It was crushed in the areas the Hummer managed to hit it as it melded around Jake's frame.

"What the hell?!"

There were horns blaring as people swerved around this scene. Some vehicles were stopping, with people getting out. Jake could hear more sirens approaching, and this time it sounded like more than just one set.

Vector was crawling out of the window of the flipped, totaled Hummer. He managed to get to his feet and was staring straight at Jake. From his mask, Jake couldn't read what Vector was thinking. He definitely didn't seem in no hurry to engage him in battle though.

"It was an act of God! Did you see it?!" a bystander yelled, crazed and ecstatic like he had just seen a miracle.

"Are you kidding me?" Jake grumbled, and knew it was time to get out of here. He glared at Vector for a moment, pointing straight at him. "You'll get yours eventually, you fucking bastard!"

The bike was no use to him now. He could see flashing blue lights come from both sides of the interstate. At first, Jake thought about running across the four lane and jumping the wall to the opposite four lane traffic. Then he realized it would probably be better to just jump off the highway altogether.

He ran for the edge of the interstate. He needed to escape the law and get his bearings. He doubted he would be able to find Ada and Rurik now, but he needed to wrap his head around what just happened. His body was still feeling foreign to him. His stomach was nauseous, his muscles were sore, his head was throbbing, and his sight was confusing him switching from normal to a burning red. The virus was doing this to him.

Jake hated the feeling. Even though it seemed to have saved his life against the Hummer, he didn't feel like himself. He hoped the affects would wear off so he could be able to figure out what to do about this whole situation. His only answers lied with Rurik. He didn't want to return to Sherry empty handed. He didn't want to return to Sherry like this. He was afraid of what he might become.

_No, I can't say that. I won't let myself turn into that bastard. This virus has nothing to do with it. He was evil all his own. All I need to do is beat some answers out of Rurik before I kill him, and then maybe Redfield and the others can help me find a cure. Piece of cake._

Jake headed off into the tree line quickly before the law showed up. He would head back northwest. The exit Ada took couldn't have been that far, and by reading the road signs heading back the way he came, it looked as though she must have exited into Rockville. Maybe he would get lucky and spot them before they got too far ahead of him. If not, it looked as though Jake had his work cut out for him.

* * *

Sherry scrambled to her feet as she watched the red motorcycle speed off with Jake on it. She couldn't believe that he left her like this. Her mind was still trying to catch up with all that had happened. She saw him die before her eyes, and the next thing she knew he was storming out the front door with eyes that mimicked his father's.

She spun around, seeing Chris, Jill, Leon, and Claire still standing outside the front door. Sherry looked straight from Leon to his dark blue Wrangler, knowing if they hurried they could catch up to Jake. Chris and Jill's black four door Dodge Ram was parked crookedly on the other side of Leon's Jeep, most likely from their hurry to get inside the house earlier.

"Leon! Come on, we have to go after him!"

"I'll get my keys," he said.

They headed back inside, and Sherry followed, no longer being able to hear the echoes of Jake's bike. Leon grabbed up his keys as Claire hugged Sherry for a moment.

"Be careful. Do you want me to come with?" Claire asked.

"No, best you stay behind. Jake is quite a handful on his own, and now I have no idea how he is going to be like…with this virus…" Sherry frowned after her words, but returned Claire's hug.

"Jill, go call Barry at Central. Tell him to put out an APB out on Jake, Ada, and HUNK as well as their vehicles. I want first responders to be BSAA. We can't risk this getting to the public," Chris said, touching her shoulder.

Jill nodded, hurrying to the phone in the kitchen. Sherry and Leon checked their weapons over before heading for the door. Chris glanced from Jill's departure back to Leon and Sherry.

"I'll call Hunnigan and inform her as well," Leon stated.

Chris nodded. "You two be careful. There is no telling how Jake is going to react right now. I don't want anyone to get hurt. We need to get Jake to go to Central to run some tests. I'm sure none of us want him to turn into-"

"He won't!" Sherry interrupted. "C'mon Leon!"

They headed out the front door, and soon the Jeep was pulling out of the driveway and driving off after Jake. Chris and Claire exchanged unsure glances before he shut the front door and then they walked to the kitchen to join Jill.

He knew he needed to be going with Leon and Sherry, but the BSAA Captain found that he needed to have a moment to think this over. Seeing those eyes after nearly four years had brought back unsettling feelings that he had only begun to bury. He knew Jake was not like his father, but Chris couldn't help but to be cautious with the virus he was injected with. It had to be the same one that Wesker had, there was no doubt about that. He knew what the virus was capable of, as well as the affects it had on its host. Wesker's superhuman abilities were one thing, but Chris was able to tell the damage it did over the years to Wesker's mind. He had always been evil and insane, but Chris couldn't help but to notice that as the years passed battling his nemesis the more unstable Wesker had become.

He did not want this to happen to Jake. Chris believed the son of Wesker would fight the affects, unlike his father who welcomed the chaos. But they still needed to get him to Central to run those tests. It could have been Jake's only shot at getting a vaccine. Or at least a way to stabilize the virus, much like the injections Wesker had to use himself.

Jill hung up the phone and joined the Redfield siblings. "Barry said he will send it out for us. Let's hope it works."

They looked at the damage in the kitchen. Jill sighed. "Well, I guess I better start cleaning up."

"I'll help," Claire added.

The girls noticed that Chris was deep in thought, his face hardened into a scowl. Jill and Claire exchanged glances. Jill handed the broom over to her sister-in-law and walked over to her husband. Touching his arm was enough to draw him out of his reverie.

"Leon and Sherry can handle Jake. Everything is going to be fine, baby."

Chris slowly nodded. "Yeah, you're right. It's just Jake's…condition…is bringing back some uncertainties."

"You don't think it bothers me?"

He looked up at her. "Of course I think it does. I want nothing more than to protect everyone if this becomes a bad situation. Especially you."

"Do you think Jake is like his father?"

She looked him straight in the eye, secretly begging for an answer. Chris slowly shook his head. "No."

"Then everything will be fine," Jill assured, smiling. "Now come help your sister and me clean this mess up."

He had no choice but to agree. It was the only thing that was going to help him get his mind off of what was going on for the moment. At least until Leon and Sherry were able to catch up with Jake and get him to go to Central. He hoped they were successful.

* * *

"Dammit!"

Leon glanced over at Sherry as the Wrangler raced through the neighborhoods. He tried to think hard on where Ada could be going, and the only logical place was the District of Columbia. That made him speed the Jeep towards the nearest bypass to I-270. He hoped his instincts were right, because at this rate, catching up with Jake was going to be near impossible.

"He still not answering?" Leon asked, as Sherry hung up her cell phone for the eighth time.

"No! I just don't understand why he would do this!"

"I'm sure it's hard to understand what is going on in his head right now. He just wants to get answers out of HUNK. Can you blame him?"

"No, but why would he push me away like that? We could have done this together, we're a team!"

Leon thinned his lips, eyes focused on the road as he raced for the interstate. He knew he needed to reassure Sherry and her feelings. Leon had many more years of life experience over Sherry. He understood exactly why Jake pushed her away to go on by himself. She just didn't see it right now.

"He did it because he was afraid he was going to hurt you."

Sherry looked over at him, her eyes widening in surprise like she had no idea. She was quiet, but tried to fumble with some words. Leon was going to explain further, but his cell phone started to ring. As he hit the bypass to get onto I-270, he answered it quickly.

"Hunnigan! Finally! I've tried to get through twice, but there was nothing. Look, forget about Vector and Lupo! I need APBs out on Ada Wong, Rurik Ginovaef, and Jake Muller. Also a black 2012 Chevrolet Camaro and a red Yahama YZF R1. It's an emergency! Get every agent within FOS and DSO in on this, understand? I cannot risk this getting into the public."

_"Leon, I'm sorry, it's going to take me longer to get this out. We have a situation going here at the FOS headquarters."_

Leon did not like her tone. "What's going on?"

_"It's Evan Fox. He has a bunch of his men going through everything. I have no idea what kind of information he is trying to find, but he intends on finding it. I have no authority to stop him since he is the Chief Security Advisor."_

Leon growled, knowing that Fox had to be up to something foul. He had no time to worry about it at the moment now. It was out of his control. "Damn it. I have no time for this. Look, Hunnigan, I need this out ASAP. Jake Muller may be infected with the same virus as Albert Wesker."

_"I'll send it into the Pentagon, Leon. I have an informant over there that owes me a favor. Stay safe, alright?"_

"No promises. Just stay clear out of Fox's way. If you can, figure out what he is up to."

_"I'll do my best."_

"Thanks, Hunnigan. Be careful." He hung up the phone, keeping the Jeep in the farthest left lane and driving well past the speed limit.

"What's going on at HQ?" Sherry inquired.

"Fox is snooping around for something. Hunnigan is going to keep an eye on him and figure out what he wants. I'm sure it's not something good by the way he is doing it."

"Great, there's something else we don't need."

"We can't worry about that right now. Let's get Jake back and safe, then we can figure out what Evan Fox is up to."

"Agreed."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait on Chapter 7! It's long, and I had a blast writing this one! There was a lot of action! ;) Things are only going to start getting crazier from now on. I got so much planned for this story, mwahahaha! I want to thank my awesome friend and beta reader Ravenlaughter for all her support and awesomeness! You're great girl! :) Hope everyone is enjoying it so far, and just hold onto your butts because this fic of mine has just shifted into overdrive lol. I want to thank everyone for the wonderful favs/alerts/reviews so far on this story, thank you so much! I am still working on other fics as well, some older, some new all together. Hope to get those uploaded and updated as well! For now though, have a good weekend friends! :D**


	9. Chapter 8: Race Against Time

**Chapter 8: Race Against Time  
**

Sherry hung up her cell phone upon hearing Jake's voicemail message once again. Sighing, she dropped the hand holding the phone to her lap. There was no use in getting a hold of him. She could see Leon glance over to her out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't worry, we'll catch up to him."

Leon sped across the interstate heading for Washington D.C. He was in the left farthest lane for his fast speed, seemingly passing countless vehicles. Sherry looked out of the window, mind racing with worried thoughts. She desperately hoped they were going the right way. Leon said this was the most plausible choice for Jake and Ada to have gone, but it didn't mean it was the right one. Jake wasn't answering his phone, which either meant he was ignoring her or in trouble. And then there was Evan Fox interfering at FOS Headquarters in a very suspicious manner, searching for something. As Chief Security Advisor there would only be a very handful of information he wasn't privy to - and this really worried Sherry.

"Uh-oh. This doesn't look good."

Leon's words broke Sherry out of her thoughts. She looked ahead, only to see heavy traffic coming up from a partial roadblock that was taking out over half of the lanes. There were road workers directing traffic around the blockade, but as traffic accumulated it was only going to get worse.

"What do you think it is?" Sherry inquired.

"Probably a wreck. I'll check it out."

They only had to wait a few minutes before it was their turn to go around the roadblock. Leon rolled down his window as he pulled up to a cop that was helping direct the traffic. The cop was a handsome, fit black man in his mid-thirties. He peered into the cab of the Jeep as Leon rolled down his window to greet him.

"What's going on, officer?"

"Some crazy accident between a Hummer and a motorcycle. No bodies anywhere, it was like they were possessed. Had a witness say something crazy like he saw the guy on the motorcycle stop the Hummer with his bare hands, flipping it over. But we all know that can't be right."

This story caught both agents' attention. Sherry leaned over in her seat to try and get a better look at the cop. "Was it a red Yamaha bike?"

The cop looked surprised. "Well, the bike has so much damage that we cannot tell the model right now, but it is definitely red."

"That has to be Jake's!" Sherry exclaimed.

The story sure did fit. Leon quickly withdrew his DSO badge, showing it to the officer. "We work for the government and have to check this out, sir."

The cop looked at the badge for a moment, then nodded. He straightened up so he could point Leon over to a parking spot. "No problem, Agent Kennedy. Just pull your Jeep over there by the first responders' vehicles on the other side of the blockade."

"Thanks."

Leon quickly pulled the Jeep over to the area he was directed to. He and Sherry jumped out and headed into the roadblock, where they were immediately told not to pass. Leon and Sherry pulled out their badges to show the officers. Sherry looked into the scene of the accident, noticing the overturned and severely wrecked Hummer. She couldn't see the motorcycle from here.

"We work for the government. We are Division of Security Operations. I'm agent Leon Kennedy and this is agent Sherry Birkin."

"Alright, come on in then. What business do you have with a traffic accident though?" another officer asked.

Leon and Sherry stepped under the tape line after putting away their badges. "Sorry, can't tell you. Secret government business."

Sherry gave him a look of mild surprise. So it wasn't one of the best times to make a joke, but it just slipped out of Leon's mouth. They walked over to the scene of the accident, taking in the shocking sight of the flipped over Hummer and its crunched up front end. Down from the Hummer not even twenty feet away were the remains of the bike. Sherry jogged over to it, with Leon right behind her. It was definitely Jake's motorcycle.

"Oh my God! Leon, it's his bike! He could be hurt, we have to find him!"

"I'm sure he is fine - virus, remember? I wonder who was in the Hummer? Did he do this on purpose or was it an accident?"

Leon saw an investigator over to the side talking to what had to have been a witness. He looked to Sherry. "Call up DSO. Have them come claim these vehicles and take them away. We can't have this open to the public. I would say call FOS, but I don't want to put Hunnigan in danger in case Fox is really up to no good."

She nodded. "Alright."

As she was pulling out her cell phone to call, Leon headed over to the investigator, who had just finished talking to the witness and let him go. The investigator was a man in his late fifties, and didn't wear a uniform like the other officers. Leon quickly showed him his badge before talking.

"My name is Agent Leon Kennedy with the government. I need to know what happened here."

"Well, the investigation is still going on, son. What I am able to gather so far is that a young man riding that motorcycle stopped this vehicle that intended to hit him with his bare hands and flipped it over. We linked the Hummer to a lethal hit and run of a police officer just down about a mile from here. Then the young guy supposedly ran off. And here I thought I'd heard it all in my thirty years."

Leon was in too much of a hurry to this point that he had to have missed the blockade with the leftovers of the police car. "Any idea who was in the Hummer?"

"Yeah, and that's where it gets even more unconvincing. A man and a woman who also fled the scene. Both wearing some sort of suit, the man supposedly even wearing a gas mask."

That sounded like Lupo and Vector to Leon, thanks to Sherry and Jake's description of them earlier. This didn't bode well in their race against time to find Jake if those two were still after him and caused all of this.

"Did the witness say where the motorcycle rider ran off to?"

The investigator nodded. "Yeah, he thinks he headed towards Rockville."

"Okay. Thank you for your time."

Leon hurried back to Sherry, who was talking with some other officers. She finished up with them and turned to Leon.

"I called them. They are on their way to clean up this mess. I just informed the officers for a heads-up. What did you find out?"

"They think he headed for Rockville. We better take off if we are going to have any chance at finding him."

Leon and Sherry immediately started back to the Jeep in a quick, striding walk. As they climbed into the vehicle and closed their doors, Sherry looked to the older agent.

"How are we going to find him?"

Leon's lips twitched. "At this rate, we follow the destruction."

* * *

She did not expect this to escalate so quickly. The entire FOS Headquarters was under lockdown. Ingrid stayed hidden, wedged between a computer desk and a filing cabinet listening to Evan Fox direct orders. There were men in black suits that had accompanied him into here, and she had lost count around twenty-four before having to hide.

Evan Fox was using these men, who seemed to be from a division of government she couldn't recognize, to round up every worker within the three story government complex. His reasoning was for a damaging breach in national security, and as Chief Security Advisor, it was his job to fix it from its source. He was telling directors, coordinators, and other workers of FOS that he and his men would be going through the computer systems to find the source, and that everyone would remain in the lockdown in case of interviewing.

She could understand why he chose the FOS Headquarters to perform this critical act. The FOS was created solely to support government agencies of all kinds, from DSO agents like Leon and Sherry, to USSS agents like Helena Harper. The FOS held intelligence from all these agencies, including the CIA and FBI, and in some instances the BSAA. Whatever Evan Fox was looking for, he would find it here.

As head coordinator of FOS, and her close work with the President and his Cabinet, Hunnigan knew his story was all a lie. Had there really been a breach in national security, she would have received a call from either President Reed or the Pentagon.

It was the reason Ingrid was hiding - she had realized Evan Fox would know her exact responsibilities, including the knowledge that what he was doing was illegal. Hunnigan knew he was hell-bent on locating something. She heard him whisper it over to one of his men, but couldn't catch all of it. His subordinates were in the process of hacking through the FOS system to locate it as she hid out of sight.

Hunnigan knew she had to figure out what he was up to and stop him. The Chief Security Advisor was boldly walking the fine line to put his position and career in danger. This told her that he either had a very good story to back him up, or that he simply didn't care.

After what happened with Derek C. Simmons, Hunnigan knew she had to be careful. There was no telling what Evan Fox would do to her if he found her out. She remembered Leon's warning not even twenty-four hours ago that Sherry had seen the tattoo symbol of the Family on his wrist, which meant he had to be bad news - just like Simmons had been.

However, she was never going to be able to figure out what exactly he was up to as long as she was hiding. As Chief Security Advisor, there was very little he wasn't privy to, so this told her it had to be something highly secure, potentially dangerous even. Peeking over the side of the desk, she looked to see what her options were. Ingrid was going to take a high risk of getting caught in order to get to an area where she could figure out what he was up to.

She saw Evan Fox up in the security center which was a spacious, square room full of large, flat computer screens. Ingrid could barely make out Fox in the doorway to the room, watching the screens closely. She couldn't see what was on the screens for now, but if they were hacking into different systems, Hunnigan was sure it was showing firewalls for now.

Her easiest route was a door not far behind her in the room she was in, full of computer desks and filing cabinets that acted as an information tracker to the security center. However, Hunnigan knew that door would only lead her to the elevators and staircase. It would be good except for the fact that Fox had his men preventing any access and she couldn't risk getting caught. None of the other rooms down that wing of the third floor would give her a way to access the FOS security systems to figure out what he was doing.

Past the security center there was another door which would lead her into another area where she could track Fox and his motives. Ingrid would have to sneak past the area they were in, and that was the least of her problems. Hunnigan knew he had more suits scanning the building for FOS members like her. So not only would she have to sneak around, it also put her on a time limit.

Hunnigan knew she had to move before it was too late. She stayed low, moving along the other desks to keep her hidden when she would walk past the open way to the security center. She still couldn't believe this was happening to her. Ingrid was known to have nerves of steel in her line of work, and now with Evan Fox taking over her home turf, she was reduced to hiding prey. She knew her life was in danger and had no choice but to move forward.

It came time for her to pass from one desk to the other in front of the security center threshold. Luckily, Ingrid was a few rows down near the farthest wall, but the light from the security center still bleached her path. If she wasn't careful, they could spot her and it would all be over.

Hunnigan stayed kneeled, her ankles aching from staying low for a long while, and her heels didn't help either. She listened and waited, only hearing Evan Fox ordering his men around. Carefully, she peeked around the desk to see. The Chief Security Advisor had his back to her, and looked to be messing with his phone. The men of his that she saw were on the computers, willfully doing orders. Hunnigan drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She then went for it, quickly and quietly sliding across that open view to the safety of the next desk.

Hunnigan made her way across the rest of the room, only standing to her full height once she reached the door. She quickly looked behind her - no one was there. Ingrid grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. The door didn't squeak as she opened it, already peaking around its frame to see if she was all clear. Hunnigan saw no suits skulking around, so she quickly pulled herself into the hallway, shutting the door silently behind her. This wing of the third floor held mostly offices for the coordinators of FOS. That meant her office was here as well, and she thought about heading straight for it. However, her office would provide no escape route in case the need arose. Hunnigan decided her best bet was to head to the far eastern offices that could give her an escape route down the fire escape.

The hallways provided some security, but Ingrid knew she had to be watchful peeking around corners. The hallways were a greyish-blue, with darker blue and gold carpet that ran in a design that was professional yet boring. Hunnigan stood out in her dark grey knee-length skirt and vest. If she wasn't careful, Evan Fox's men could discover her easily.

As she looked around one corner, Ingrid could see one at the far end of the hallway. He wasn't facing towards her, but not away from her either. He seemed to be looking at some of the portraits that decorated a few of the hallways. Hunnigan wasn't sure if she could be seen in his peripheral vision, but wasn't anxious to find out. She only had to go up to half the distance he was to another hallway intersection. The right way would lead her to the offices with the fastest escape routes.

She waited to see if the agent would turn away from her. Ingrid knew she was running out of time and had to hurry. As soon as his back started towards her, she darted out into the open and strode down to the next hallway intersection. She quickly rounded on the right and got out of view of the suit. Hunnigan eased down the next hallway, wanting to speed up, but knowing if she got caught it was all over. Ingrid knew that the office she wanted was just around the corner. Once at the end of this hallway, she had a right or left turn that had the hallway with the farthest eastern offices.

As she reached that left or right conjunction, Hunnigan was very careful to look both ways. She quickly slipped out of view as she saw two agents heading her way side by side down the left of the hallway. Ingrid didn't have much time, but they would be passing right by her and would see her. She couldn't go out into the hallway they were, so backtracked quickly. Picking the nearest office behind her, she slipped inside. It wasn't one of the ones she was aiming for, but it would work. Hunnigan locked the door and moved through the dark office. The light from the desktop computer gave her a feel of the room. It was their typical office, just one of the smaller ones. It consisted of a desk stacked with papers and a computer in the center of the room. Behind the desk was a chair, right in front of a full bookshelf with a large, golden statue of an eagle in flight on top.

Hunnigan immediately got to work, getting onto the computer and typing away. The light from the screen reflected off of her glasses as her fingers swiftly danced over the keyboard. It took her a minute, but she was able to hack into the security systems to see what Evan Fox was searching for. The database was bringing up several sources he was searching into. She saw he had hacked into several servers for certain Intel. Ingrid saw FBI, CIA, FOS, DSO, and even the BSAA. All the information he was gathering were along the same subject.

"What the hell?" Hunnigan hissed. She didn't understand why he wanted all of this, but it was definitely information held in the tightest, most secure and top secret files of global security.

Hunnigan flipped out her phone, quickly calling up Leon. She begged for the ringing to be replaced by his voice, her eyes staying on the computer as she continued to watch as Evan Fox gathered more information of the different databases.

_"Hunnigan? What's going on? Everything alright?"_

She kept her voice down. "Leon, I think we have a serious problem on our hands. Evan Fox is getting any kind of information he can get on Jake Wesker and Albert Wesker. He even broke into the BSAA's most secure database for most of it, along with Jake's entire file."

_"That explains why he is going about it this way. It's one of the most secure files within the BSAA for global security. How did he find out about Jake's relationship to Wesker?"_

"I have no idea. I was hoping you knew. You don't think he is going after Jake, do you?"

_"Whatever his plans are, they aren't good. If he really is with the Family, then we have no choice but to take every precaution. __Especially if he is going after Jake.__ Is there any other Intel he is stealing?"_

"Hold on, let me check." Hunnigan said.

She started typing quickly. The tapping of the keys echoed throughout the darkness of the room. Hunnigan could feel the pounding of her heart in her throat as she quickly worked to get Leon as much information as possible.

She was sick at what she found.

"Jesus, Leon. He is getting everyone's files and information. Anyone who has to do with Raccoon City. You, Sherry, Claire, Chris, Jill, Rebecca, Barry, Billy, Carlos, Ada, you name it. He has addresses, mission files, even Jill's medical files on her PTSD after the events in Kijuju."

"_Sounds like he is after more than just Jake."_

Hunnigan heard the DSO agent sigh on the other line. She was confused by Evan's motives here. "Why would he want everyone's information? It makes no sense. Just because of Raccoon City? There has to be more to it. What else connects all of you?"

"_Maybe our goals?__ But even that doesn't make sense. Why would he just go after those from Raccoon City, when the whole BSAA, DSO and other agencies have the same objective?"_

"I was hoping you would tell me," Hunnigan answered, eyes flicking to the door.

"_Wait a minute…when you add Jake to that equation, there is only one thing that connects all of us."_

Her heart skipped, and she felt her stomach tighten into a sickly knot. "…Wesker?"

"_Hunnigan, you need to get out of there now."_

He was right. She had already spent too much time in one spot. And with her hacking through the system to figure out what they were up to, it made her location easy to find if they noticed.

"Alright, I will get over to the White House and then call you again."

"_Be careful, Hunnigan."_

She hung up her cell phone and pocketed it. Ingrid took a moment to gather her thoughts and take a much needed breath. Her mind was racing. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her skirt, unsettled by the thought that Wesker might really be the link to all of this. He was dead, killed by two rockets in a volcano pit on an island not far from Africa. She wasn't going to stick around to find out either.

Hunnigan moved quickly for the door. The fire escapes were not far away from her location. All she had to do was avoid being spotted long enough to get outside and away from here.

Ingrid was confident in her plan - until she went to touch the door knob. She jumped, hearing the rattle as someone from the outside was turning it to come in. Hunnigan panicked, looking around the dark office, knowing there was nowhere to hide. She was sure that if they found her, she was as good as dead.

* * *

Just east of the exit of I-270 to Rockville, Vector found an alleyway to hide out in for the time being. He helped Lupo down to a sitting position, having helped guide her along since the wreck. They were both wounded from the inhuman stunt Jake had pulled on their vehicle, but Lupo sustained far worse injuries. When Jake fired multiple shots at the Hummer as they were racing towards him, one of the bullets ricocheted within the cab of the rig, and struck her in the shoulder. The force had caused her to hit her head and instantly lose consciousness. In that second, her foot had become heavy on the accelerator and the Hummer went straight for Jake for the kill.

Vector hadn't been expecting this outcome at all. It was still their mission to collect Jake unharmed. He thought that Lupo had been killed, and in that instant the Hummer would have smashed into the son of Wesker and killed him as well. Instead, he was met with the stopping force of hitting a solid brick wall, being flipped over and thrown several feet up and through the air in the process. They both had received multiple injuries from the inevitable crash landing. His injuries were mild, but once Jake fled, he knew he and Lupo had to get out and rethink their strategy - profoundly.

Vector was relieved she was still alive. Even though they were equals now from their current employment, she would always be Wolf Mother to him. She had been his leader for many years in the days of Umbrella, and that respect would never die.

Lupo was conscious now, having awoken not long after Jake fled the scene on the interstate. Vector informed her of what had happened, and she was just as surprised as he was. Her shoulder was covered with a makeshift bandage derived from some of their supplies. The injury had cost her a lot of blood, but she would be okay for now.

"How are we supposed to succeed in our mission to obtain Jake if he has inhuman abilities now? How do you think he got them within the couple hours we lost him at his aunt's apartment?" Vector asked, leaning on the wall of the alleyway, looking down at Lupo as she sat against the opposite wall.

Lupo was quiet at first as she thought. "It's hard to tell. He was obviously after someone on the interstate while we were after him. But it doesn't matter how he got them. It's impossible to finish our objective with him having this kind of power. We're abandoning the mission."

Vector pushed himself off of the wall. "Are you crazy? He'll kill us."

Lupo was pulling out her phone to make a call. "This was unexpected. He'll understand."

Vector stayed quiet as she called their client. The phone rang a few times before their employer answered. Lupo always kept it on speakerphone so they could both hear and talk to him in their business.

_"Yes?"_

Lupo knew she would have to handle this carefully. "Jake Wesker will not be able to be obtained by obvious means."

_"Oh? Do explain."_

"He must have a virus of some kind that he acquired in the time that we lost him. He has inhuman abilities and almost killed both of us."

_"Is that so? Hmm, sounds like we have someone ahead of us in this little game. But whom I wonder? Obviously, they have the same plan for Jake as I do. Oh well, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. You two should not have lost him the first time. As experts, you two should have been able to obtain Jake, who is a kid no less, without any hassle or destruction. This only adds to my work, don't you see?"_

Vector grumbled. "The kid was better skilled than we originally thought. It was a one-time mistake."

Their employer chuckled. _"Oh? Did you not take into consideration whose son he is? That should have been enough to put you on edge in itself."_

Vector was getting annoyed, but Lupo glared at him. It was a warning not to go too far with their employer.

"It was a mistake. It won't happen again," she said.

_"How about Michelle Lewis? Did you dispose of her? I cannot have anymore loose ends from the Family running around."_

"She's been taken care of," Lupo answered.

They heard him sigh on the other side of the line. _"Good. You two better get back to the hideout and get your wounds tended to. I'll go take care of Jake. We will finish this later."_

"Copy that," Lupo stated, and then hung up the phone.

Vector went over to help Lupo to her feet. He wasn't happy at all, but his gas mask hid his emotions well. It took the older female warrior a few moments to recover upon standing. Vector remained where he was in case she needed him.

"We need to get out from our contract."

She glared up at him. "You know I cannot do that. If you want out so bad, then leave. At least you have nothing holding you back."

Vector stayed quiet. Lupo was able to start walking herself, and she led the way back towards the streets. It was out of line for him to say that to her, but he felt that if they stayed on this path then they would end up like the rest of Umbrella Security Services Delta Team.

"Radio in to have someone pick us up," Lupo stated.

He pulled out his radio from his utility belt. "Yes, Wolf Mother."

* * *

The city of Rockville provided Jake with a new sense of aimless wandering. There was a lack of direction as he walked towards the center of the incorporated city, determined to continue his search for the wrecked black Camaro that held Rurik and Ada, even though his chances were clearly well beyond hopeless. It didn't help that his body seemed so bent on being his worst enemy. Still trying to recover from whatever happened on the interstate, Jake was still in denial of what was coursing through his veins, but he kept getting reprimanded, and it was painful and exasperating.

His head was what bothered him the most, and Jake found himself having trouble thinking from the sharp pounding that plagued his skull. The pain would continue to bring about bloody vision, causing his surroundings to look alien to him in a red haze.

"Screw this!" he growled, rubbing at his eyes.

He had to stop. His body was yet able to go on without consequence. Jake didn't know if his body was trying to recover from dying or if the virus truly was taking over. There was more to it than just the red veil over his vision, and feeling alienated with his body. He couldn't quite describe it, but he felt as though all his senses were melding together. The ex-mercenary could suddenly taste and hear shapes and colors, and he could see speech and music. His senses had become totally indistinguishable to him. It would hit him in waves, making him sick.

Jake had heard of this before, a long time ago. It was called synesthesia, and was known to affect human babies for a certain period of time after birth. Jake wondered if he was having this because of his recent "rebirth", or if the virus was simply still taking over his body in what seemed like a slow, torturous manner. Whatever the reason was, he knew he desperately had to struggle to regain control.

When he wasn't getting hit in waves of synesthesia, he could feel his senses on their own were erratically pulsing. He would go from being deaf, to being able to hear the interstate like it was rushing his eardrums, or be able to hear a band playing close by when there was obviously nothing of the sorts around him. His sense of smell would do the same. He could smell blood, sweat, cologne, car exhaust, everything in a distinguished manner that was so strong, he could taste it in his mouth.

He needed to give up. His body was not going to let him continue like this. It wasn't as though he was going to be able to find them anyway. Ada probably got right back on the interstate from within Rockville. They could have been hiding out in the city to make sure they lost Jake before continuing on. Or they could have abandoned the car and took the Red Line metro back to Washington D.C. Jake didn't want to give up, but he was so frustrated and he didn't know where to go.

At any rate, he needed to get out of here. The people who were walking by him were starting to give him strange looks. Jake knew he was not acting composed as his body and senses worked against him.

The cell phone rang in his pocket. The newborn tyrant gritted his teeth from the noise, as the ring sounded more high pitched than usual from his aching head. He took it out but didn't answer it, seeing that it was Sherry. There were four other missed calls from her. Jake frowned, pocketing the sleek black phone back into his pocket. He should have known Sherry was going to be stubborn. Hurting her felt horrible, but he didn't want her to see him like this. Hell, _he_ didn't want to see himself like this.

The pain in his heart upon seeing the look on her face after he spoke those words to her and pushed her away felt still raw. She had landed on the lawn, eyes wide and lined with tears.

_"Stay away from me…"_

The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he couldn't risk her getting hurt. Jake wasn't human anymore; being a lot more like his father now made him fear for her. He didn't want to hurt her and therefore had to protect her, even if it was from himself.

Jake headed out. There was no use standing around on the corner of a busy street looking like a freak show for the public. He started walking back for the bypass, realizing oddly enough that instinct had headed him that way. Walking a block west towards the towering interstate, he wondered if the aches and pains from his virus were ever going to cease within his body or if it would continue until his head exploded. Jake took a shortcut over a grassy knoll that separated two one-way streets.

As he was walking over it, he took in a deep breath. The scent of blood hit his nose, but it was like a light had been switched. Not knowing how or why, he instantly knew the blood scent was Rurik's. His newly heightened sense allowed him to follow the scent, so he ran up the rest of the grassy knoll and looked out to the full street ahead. Traffic was running pretty heavy for the current hour. There were also many pedestrians walking the streets like Jake, although less aimlessly than him. There was a vehicle that caught his eye waiting at the red light. It was Ada and Rurik's Camaro. The bullet holes, scrapes, and missing driver's side view mirror left no room for doubts in his mind.

At first he couldn't believe it, but the initial surprise quickly turned to anger, and Jake knew he couldn't lose them again. If he hurried, he could reach the car before the light turned green. He didn't have a vehicle to catch up if they were able to escape, so messing it up wasn't an option. The young man - who was possibly just experiencing the worst day of his life - drew his gun from its holster determined to get Rurik to talk fast, finish the execution and get the hell out of here before the police could get after him. He knew he would most likely have to kill Ada as well; even though she saved Sherry's life back in China, she still found herself on Jake's hit list for helping his treacherous ex-mentor and father figure.

Jake glared at the Camaro, tightening the hold on his pistol. "Ready or not, here I come."

He took off in a sprint, knowing he had only seconds to catch up before the light changed. As his legs were moving, he suddenly felt strange. Realizing he was going at a speed way past that of any normal human, he didn't know how to stop it, and didn't have time to before he slammed into the side of a pickup behind the Camaro and making it topple over.

This alerted Ada and Rurik, and the Camaro sped out from its position at the stop light and was speeding away. Jake cursed, running after them quickly. His inhuman speed caught him up in moments, but Jake was still clumsy at the new ability, and ended up crashing into the back bumper of the car. The car was thrown forward, getting a little airborne, before landing on asphalt with tires squealing.

Ada suddenly took a swerving left down another road. Jake was barely able to get control of his speeding body to follow after her. He came into the view of a semi-truck coming his way. His reaction was to jump the rest of the way out of its course, but instead of jumping a few meters like a normal human would, he suddenly realized he was several feet high in the air and flying across quite a distance. Before he could even register the perks of what he was actually doing, Jake realized he was flying straight for a large, green street sign that was directing traffic to the Rockville bypass to I-270.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Jake slammed right into it. Even though it took the air out of him, he barreled right through it, taking out the whole metal arm that hung it over the road. The sign and the arm fell to the street, creating a pile up within seconds. As Jake fell for the ground, his reaction was off, and he landed clumsily.

He saw the black Camaro racing for the bypass. Jake wasn't about to let them escape. He sprinted forth once more, pumping his legs and welcoming the inhuman speed for once. He moved like a blur, catching up in mere seconds. He saw Rurik lean out of the window, and with his good hand aimed a gun on him. Jake got hit in the shoulder by one shot, but was able to dodge the other two bullets. Just as he recovered and caught up again, he noticed Rurik had the pin pulled on a flash grenade. He waited just long enough to throw it, and it exploded inches from Jake's face.

His senses were instantly overwhelmed with excruciating pain. He slid to a halt, shielding his eyes with his arm and yelling out. Jake cursed colorfully as he tried to recover as quickly as possible. The flash grenade not only blinded him, but caused his other senses to mold together again into a painful mess.

By the time he recovered from the flash, he looked to see the car was long gone. They had reached the bypass of I-270 and were heading straight for D.C. Jake couldn't contain his anger. He yelled out, kicking a nearby fire hydrant in his rage. His power took it out completely, and suddenly a geyser of water was blasting to the sky.

"Goddammit! You're gonna pay for that, even if it's the last thing I'll ever do!"

* * *

**A/N: So sorry for the wait on this chapter. I struggled with it for many reasons. There were parts I had too many ideas and couldn't decide what I wanted to use, and there were parts where I had no clue what to write lol. Anyway, it is all good now, and the next chapter should come out much sooner than what this one took. I want to give a big thanks to Ravenlaughter who has been helping with many of my works, as well as beta reading for me! Thank you, you're the best! :) Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, and hope I'm keeping you all hooked! Thank you so much for all the favs/alerts/reviews these past few weeks, I really appreciate them! :D**


	10. Chapter 9: Expect the Unexpected

**Chapter 9: Expect the Unexpected**

The sound of the doorknob rattling within the shadows of the small office put Ingrid in a panic. She looked around the room; there was nowhere to hide, and already she could hear the door being unlocked from the other side! Hunnigan noticed there was nothing she could use as a weapon - unless maybe she wanted to stab them with a pen or try giving them paper cuts.

As the door began to open, she did the only thing that came to mind. Slipping behind the door into the corner that would hide her, she was relieved that the office was mostly dark, save for the light from the computer screen. Practically using the door as a shield, she kept silent and still as she saw two figures slip inside.

"Are you sure this is the room where we cornered the hacker?" came one of the men's voice.

Both were Evan's suits, and they were definitely on the prowl. When they went straight over to the computer, they found where Hunnigan had been spying on Evan's intentions. The light from the computer screen revealed them to her but she kept hidden and quiet, praying they wouldn't find her.

"Yeah, see? They must have taken off already. Fox said we need to find whoever this is and dispose of them ASAP."

"Then let's go find them. They couldn't have gone too far, the whole building is still on lockdown."

Hunnigan held her breath, her heart banging in her chest way too fast and too loud - she was almost willing to bet they could hear it. When the two men turned away from the computer and came right for her, all she wanted was to melt right into the wall. As they walked out of the office, one of the suits grabbed the door and slung it shut behind them, and she was left alone in the office once more.

It took her a moment to relax. She couldn't believe her luck. Slowly pushing herself away from the corner, Ingrid realized she needed to move and fast. They were searching for her, though Hunnigan was relieved that it sounded like they had no clue who she was. The quickest route of escape was the fire escapes just down the hallway. It may have been just a short distance, but that didn't mean she was out of danger just yet.

She waited a long, tense moment by the door, hand hovering over the golden knob. Ingrid wanted to make sure the men were gone, but she also had to prepare herself to tread back outside into dangerous territory.

With a breath of courage, she turned the knob and slowly opened it. She was cautious at first, taking a peek on both sides, to see if there was any danger lurking in the hallway. Seeing that it was clear, Hunnigan quickly slipped out and soundlessly closed the door behind her.

She moved liked a cat, silent and discreet. The fire escapes were located just around the corner, in the windows of the far west of the building that was letting the evening light come in. It would be dark soon, but not soon enough for her to sneak out unseen.

"Hey you! Stop right there!"

The voice made her heart leap to her throat in an instant. They were coming up behind her, but Hunnigan dared not to turn and look at them; instead, she quickly took off into a run. She couldn't reach the fire escapes now, they would catch her if she tried. Ingrid would have to lose them first.

"After her!"

The chase was on, but luckily Hunnigan had the home front advantage. She was also relieved that she could run in heels. Rounding the corner while picking up the pace, she ran right past all the windows with her escape. Down the hall there was a left turn, and right there by the conjunction was a closet for maintenance. Maybe they would run right past it if she hid in it fast enough.

As she ran around that corner, Ingrid went straight for it. She opened the small closet door and slipped inside, careful not to slam it shut so they wouldn't hear her. The door had air vents in its frame that enabled her to peek outside to see what was going on. Within moments of hiding safely, she saw the two suits run straight past in a hurry. Hunnigan exhaled a deeply relieved breath. She was shaking from the scare, but knew she had to hurry now to get out.

Ingrid left the closet and went straight back to the nearest window with a fire escape. When she opened the window, the evening was already cooling from the sun starting to dip into the horizon. Hunnigan closed the window behind her and quickly climbed down the three stories to finalize her escape. She had to get back to the White House, and hopefully by then, Leon would have more info for her so they could start turning the tables on Evan Fox.

* * *

There was a strange rattling coming from the engine as the Camaro sped along the interstate. Ada was surprised the car was still going at all, and hoped it would get her and Rurik back to Evan's base before breaking down. They were sure to have finally lost Jake back in Rockville after leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Rurik winced as he felt his bad arm. It was probably only broken in the wrist, but from his elbow being out of socket, he knew it tore something up. His whole arm was black and blue from the bruising and swelling.

Ada had received a bump on her forehead from her head hitting the steering wheel when Jake slammed into the back of the car during the chase. The Camaro would surely have been wrecked at that time had it not been for her quick reflexes.

"You weren't kidding about him wanting me dead," Rurik said, breaking the silence that had enveloped the car for several minutes after their escape from Jake. "I'm not surprised…though I do have to admit I had forgotten how tenacious Jake can be."

Ada glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure they were still not being followed. The interstate was starting to crowd because of evening rush. Ada knew she would have to turn on the headlights soon because it was getting dark outside; she just hoped they weren't busted.

"I haven't. I know whose son he is." Ada ignored his grumbling, inaudible remark. "You are going to give me answers when we get back to base. You owe me that much."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. It's best if you just witness it on your own."

Ada sighed. "This is why I prefer to work alone."

The Russian mercenary chuckled. "I hear you on that."

Ada flicked on the headlights, knowing they were starting to enter into the District of Columbia. The headlights worked surprisingly. They would need them soon.

"Do you ever think of the past?"

Rurik's question caught her off guard, and Ada glanced over at him. He was looking out the passenger window to the filled interstate as well as the mass of the city. She was quiet at first, thinking on it. Ada decided to humor him.

"I have my days."

"Do you wonder about how some things could have been if you had made different choices?"

Ada was quiet, her mind conjuring up some scenarios that fitted his question. Oddly enough, the first one she thought of was Leon. Her lips twitched. "Sometimes. But you can't change the past. Why dwell on it?"

"Some choices haunt you for your entire life."

Ada glanced at him. There was regret on his face, his eyes looking to his hands. He said nothing more, and Ada decided to leave it at that. This was a side of Mr. Death no one ever saw, and Ada was sure it was because of recent events with Jake Wesker. She had to admit, he was more like Nicholai than she first gave him credit for. Both brothers were notorious as mercenaries, but Ada couldn't help but to notice the deep sense of honor and devotion they held for certain matters in their life.

The female assassin knew it was best to not ask Rurik what was haunting him. In their line of work they all had something in common: they preferred to keep their secrets to themselves.

"Do you regret what you did to Jake?"

HUNK shook his head. "No. I gave him a fighting chance. He may hate me, view me as a traitor and even want to kill me…hell, he might even succeed at this point! But I'll know that I saved his life, and that's all I want."

"Are you sure you know what's best for Jake?"

"I had him for just a few years under my protection. That's way more than his father ever gave him. I taught him how to fight and survive. He's seen things no one, let alone a kid, should ever see. The kid's had a pretty rough life. I think I'm obligated to say I know what's best for him."

"I think only Jake would know what's best for him."

Rurik was quiet at first, looking out the window. "Maybe…I thought I knew what was best for me when I was his age. Look where that got me."

"What are you trying to say?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

There was no getting any additional information out of him. The cab of the car was filled with an unsettled silence for the rest of the drive back to Evan's base. All the while, Ada was deep in thought on what was to come.

* * *

"Jesus Christ," Leon muttered, looking out to the wreckage in the streets. His head shook at the sight. There was a pile up on the street that led to the interstate exit. A fire hydrant was gushing out gallons of water in a geyser, soaking the whole street. The interstate sign had been torn from its post and was currently bent and stuck on top of a wrecked SUV. There was plenty more wreckage that had led them to where they were now.

"You weren't kidding about following the destruction," Sherry sighed.

They had left the Jeep parked up the road and watched as police operated traffic and helped out with civilians caught up in the pile up. There were two ambulances parked, silent lights flashing as paramedics checked on injured civilians. A fire truck was able to get around the road blocks, its diesel engine loud on the ears as it pulled up to the busted fire hydrant.

Leon rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble but too deep in thought. He glanced over to Sherry and noticed exactly how upset she was.

"Sherry?"

"Why? Why would he do this? He's hurting people!"

She was already upset for what Jake had said to her before driving off and leaving her. Leon walked over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, we are going to find him and set it right, okay?"

Sherry slowly nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Start asking some of these civvies if they've seen anything that could get us back on his trail."

Sherry complied with a simple nod, leaving his side to walk over to one of the ambulances parked nearby. Leon had another look around, deciding to walk down to the end of the destruction near the fire hydrant. The firefighters had fixed it to stop the gushing water, and were now working on repairing it. He couldn't see any traces that could tell him where Jake could have gone after here, and already it was getting dark. This was only going to make their search that much more difficult. Leon thought about abandoning the search, but he knew they could not leave Jake out in the city to be a liability. With all this destruction, Jake was almost certain to have attracted some unwanted attention. They needed to locate him, and fast.

Hearing footsteps padding up behind him, the agent slightly turned. It was Sherry, and she was in the process of checking her cell phone. She looked disappointed when she pocketed it, so Leon figured there was still no answer from Jake.

"I had two witnesses say they saw him heading towards the park just a block away. We better head over there right away."

Leon nodded, pulling out his keys. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

Chris didn't help out much with cleaning up the kitchen before a call from Patricia had him retreat into the back den. Jill and Claire knew it was going to be important, and so didn't bother him. The kitchen was a mess, waiting to be cleaned up.

Jill leaned on the broom, glancing around. There was broken glass everywhere, not to mention blood and broken items. The hole in the wall was an eyesore, with a bloody bullet hole not far from it from the shot that had gone straight through Jake's heart. Her kitchen floor tiles were completely ruined where Wesker's son had stomped the mirror into the floor after seeing his transformed eyes.

Claire got a trashcan for the glass as they began to sweep it up and piled up the broken dishes. Once that was nearly completed, Claire broke away to fill the sink with hot soapy water to clean up the blood and debris.

Just as Jill was about to dump some glass into the bin, she heard the doorbell go off. She went ahead and dumped the glass, then handed her broom and pan to Claire before departing to the front door. She didn't want to bother Chris to answer it in case the BSAA director's call was important.

When she answered the door she was surprised to see two familiar faces. On the left was her favorite burly man with a hearty grin and red beard. On the right was his petite wife with wavy blonde hair. Barry and Karen Burton greeted her in unison. Barry carried a couple of cases of beer, and Karen was holding onto what looked like packages of raw hamburgers.

"Hey, sorry we're late. I couldn't find that brand of charcoal Chris told me about. So I just got the good ol' value brand," Barry greeted, a warm smile on his aging face.

Jill was confused at first as she let them inside. "Hey guys, what's all this?"

"Grilling date remember?" Karen asked. "You did say Wednesday last weekend right?"

It dawned on her just as Chris and Claire came to greet them. By the looks on Chris and Claire's faces, they had totally forgotten as well. Jill couldn't blame them. There was just so much going on with Jake and Patricia calling in on what was going on over in Japan.

"Carlos, Rebecca, and Billy should be here shortly. I think Carlos was going to bring Amber but she ended up having to work I think," Barry added.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but we all forgot about this. I don't even think we will be able to do this tonight. We had something happen," Chris stated.

"That's putting it mildly," Claire retorted wryly.

Barry's brows furrowed, and he glanced to his wife. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Well…Jill's kitchen could be doing better," Chris replied.

The Burtons moved towards the kitchen, wanting to put down their supplies anyway. They stopped short at the entrance to the kitchen, putting the beer and burgers on the nearby counter. Chris, Jill, and Claire slipped in behind them.

"Oh my goodness," Karen whispered.

Barry looked from the broken glass pile mixed with rubble, to the hole in the wall, to the blood that was splattered here and there throughout. "What is this? What happened?"

"Long story," Jill sighed.

Barry scratched his graying red beard. "Looks like you have a murder scene here."

"It kinda is…was," Claire trailed off.

"Just make yourselves at home. Once the others get here I will explain everything," Chris said, motioning for the living room.

"You sure, Chris?" Jill inquired.

Chris shrugged. "What if Leon and Sherry come back without him? This way everyone is here and we can all go look for him. I can't have him out in the city in his condition."

"Alright."

"I'll help you clean up," Karen offered.

Barry grabbed a nearby broom. "Me too. We can get it done much quicker this way."

"Thanks guys," Jill said, smiling.

"I'll go get the mop and some rags from the utility room," Chris stated, leaving the kitchen.

Claire was staring into the living room. Jill came up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Claire?"

She shook out of her thoughts. "Sorry. I'm just worried. It's almost dark and I haven't heard from either Leon or Sherry, not even a text."

"I'm sure they are fine. Come on, they will be back in no time…and Jake with them. You know how Leon is."

Claire twitched a smile. "True."

* * *

Jake's senses had gone haywire again. The flash grenade had overwhelmed him much worse than any other time before this. In his aimless wandering he grew sick from the pulsing pain in his head and the ambiences of his mixed senses. He bent over and vomited unexpectedly before proceeding to wherever his legs were taking him.

The young man wound up in a park not too far away from where he lost Rurik and Ada. He stopped to look around and get his bearings. The park housed many trees and beautiful stone walkways, but not far away from his current location it opened up into a green, grassy field with a large pond and a nearby parking lot. There were benches and a few picnic tables sitting in positions in the field, some of them up here in the shades.

Jake felt suddenly parched, his dry throat aching like it was on fire. He set out for the pond, noticing that there weren't all that many people present at the moment, probably from the darkness that was about to set in. He could see a couple of teens playing basketball on the opposite side of the park over from the pond. But over here it was much more serene. An elderly couple was sitting on a bench not far from him in the shade, but they looked like they were about to leave.

As he was just hitting the field, a young couple holding hands was coming up. The guy caught Jake's eyes. At first, Jake thought he was going to have a problem, but a big grin came on the guy's face.

"Duuude! Awesome contacts, where did you get them?"

Jake pushed passed him and continued on without a word. He made his way to the pond to look at his reflection. The young tyrant was still sickened to see those strange, fiery golden cat eyes staring back at him. At least he was relieved to find that they were no longer glowing. Sighing, Jake kneeled to scoop some water up in his palms and take a much needed drink. He gurgled some to try and get the taste of sickness from his mouth. Finally, the redhead splashed some on his face to try and relieve some pressure.

Jake moved up a little from the shore of the pond to sit down in the grass. The young man had no idea what he was going to do now - he was at a loss. He checked his cell phone only to find a new voicemail from a recent missed call from Sherry. There was also a new text from her. Growing curious, the young man opened it to read it real quick.

_Jake please answer me._

He lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed at first. Pocketing his phone he continued to ignore her for now. Jake knew he would eventually have to go back. There was no way he would be able to find Rurik on his own, but the fact that Chris wanted to do tests on him pissed him off. He knew the BSAA captain had good intentions, but he sure as hell didn't want to be subjected to the same shit as in the detention center in China where he and Sherry had been locked up.

Maybe he would just spend the night here in the park and head back in the morning. It wouldn't be his first time sleeping outside with nothing.

He heard a vehicle coming up in the parking lot a ways behind him, but didn't bother looking. For the first time since he got shot back in Redfield's house, he was starting to feel a little better. He didn't want to move from his spot, especially now that the pain was slowly starting to subside from his head, and for once he could distinguish his senses again. Calming down, he watched the ducks out on the pond, hoping this was a sign that the virus wasn't going to wreak havoc within his body for a little while.

"Leon, it's him! Jake!"

Sherry's voice caused him to snap his head around. He saw her running for him across the field from the parking lot and quickly got to his feet. He couldn't believe they found him. Leon wasn't far behind her - so it had been his vehicle Jake had heard pulling up.

Sherry tackled him into a hug. Jake was about to return it, but remembered that he should be keeping her at bay. Reluctantly, he pushed her away.

"What do you guys want?" he growled.

"We've been looking all over for you! Why didn't you answer my calls?" Sherry replied, ignoring his tone.

"Because I was trying to kill that fucking bastard."

"So I take it he got away?" Leon asked.

"Barely."

"That's putting it lightly," Leon scoffed. "We followed your trail of destruction the whole way."

"Jake, why did you have to do it this way? Do you know how many people you hurt? Leon and I could have helped you catch up with Rurik at the beginning."

"Oh, I'm sorry for not thinking rationally after getting fucking shot in the chest and dying, and then waking up like THIS," Jake snapped.

"Hey, there is no need to talk to her like that. Sherry really cares about you, Jake. I know why you are pushing her away, alright? You're afraid you might hurt her while you are like this, but that's no excuse for talking to her like that or treating her this way."

Leon's tone meant business. Jake didn't realize how protective Leon was of Sherry until now. Still, he wasn't going to back down, not like this. They had no idea what he was going through.

"Right, Mr. Perfect, how about you go get shot, die and come back as a monster and see how you feel like treating everybody? You guys have no fucking clue what I'm going through right now."

"You're right, we don't," Sherry jumped in. "But we care about you and want to help. Come with us back to Chris's house - please, Jake."

"So I can be his lab rat? I'm not stupid. He knows I'm gonna end up just like my father and just wants to get rid of me right away before I become too much for him to handle."

Leon was glaring at him now, but it was Sherry who snapped back at him. "Chris is not like that! He just wants to help you, Jake! We all do, get it through your thick skull! He doesn't want to see you turn into your father! He wants to run tests for a cure!"

"The only way you will end up like him is if you let yourself."

Jake glared at Leon. "How the hell would you know? You didn't know him."

"Neither did you. And we've all had our run-ins with him...right, Sherry? Chris and Jill may know him the best, but we all have our fair share of scars from him."

Jake decided to let it go. He relaxed, looking away from them. They weren't going to leave without him, that much was clear. Truthfully, Jake didn't want to leave Sherry again. He knew he screwed up, but he didn't regret it. All he wanted was to protect her from the fallout of his infection and recent resurrection as a super-human being - consequences that he knew were going to follow sooner rather than later.

Sighing, he walked forth, shoving past Leon to head for the Jeep. They turned to watch him. "Well, we better head back then. Guess I'm ready to become Redfield's guinea pig now."

"I thought it was lab rat?" Leon inquired as he and Sherry followed after him.

"Whatever."

* * *

When Claire opened the door for Rebecca, Billy, and Carlos, the house was overwhelmed with their laughing as they started carrying in some food and supplies for the grill they were supposedly going to have. Billy and Carlos, being good friends, had a tendency to make a room overfill with laughter and jokes from their banter. And before Claire or anyone else could stop them, they were waltzing right into the kitchen to set their things down.

The kitchen was as clean as it was going to get for now. At least it didn't look like a murder scene had just happened.

"Hey, sorry we're late. We were trying to pick up Carlos's girlfriend. We thought she was going to be able to get off early but it didn't work," Rebecca greeted in the living room to the others.

"It's no problem," Jill stated.

"Jesus, what happened in here?" Billy called from the kitchen.

Chris and Jill went into the kitchen with Rebecca at their heels. Billy was still by the counter where all the supplies were at, but was looking around the kitchen. Carlos had made his way over to the giant hole in the wall where Jill had done her best to put up a makeshift cover. He was poking at it so she slapped his hands away.

"If this is the Redfields' idea of home improvement, stay away from my kitchen," Carlos joked.

"Haha, very funny, Carlos," Jill mocked.

Billy chuckled, walking over to Rebecca. "Say Chris, you know how I always talk about how grateful I am to you and the BSAA for saving my ass and giving me my life and identity back? Well in return, I could have given you some pointers for kitchen remodeling if you were going to be this bad at it. Just saying."

"Yeah, if only it was that simple," Chris snorted.

"Actually, if you guys want to go take a seat in the living room, Chris will explain what is going on," Jill informed.

Rebecca frowned. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, just let me explain."

"Can I take a beer with me?"

"Sure, Carlos."

They all returned to the large living room. Rebecca, Billy, and Carlos took one sofa, and Barry, Karen, and Claire already sat on the other. Jill stood by her husband as he took a moment to think through his words.

"Alright, you guys know that kid Jake Muller who had the C-Virus antibodies? He came to the States to see Sherry and talk to me about…a few things."

Chris forgot he hadn't told them about Jake's family history. The others had never met Jake in person, and Chris wasn't expecting them to so soon. He would have to tell them now since the situation had escalated so quickly.

"Well, apparently he has ties to an old nemesis of ours, HUNK, who even came here for Jake. What he did was inject the kid with what we believe is the same virus Wesker had, and then shot and killed him to get the virus to awaken. After Jake came back, he went straight after HUNK, and then Leon and Sherry went after him. That's what happened in our kitchen."

Everyone was quiet at first. The BSAA captain could tell his comrades and good friends were startled yet confused by his story.

"Why inject him with Wesker's virus?" Barry asked.

"HUNK said something sinister was coming our way. This was obviously his way of giving Jake a fighting chance against it. Something powerful enough to destroy all of us apparently," Jill stated, glancing to Chris.

"Did he say what?" Billy inquired.

"No, but I know whatever it is we will pull through it. We always do," Chris answered.

"So the kid with the C-Virus antibodies…if he has Wesker's virus…does that mean he will go loco?" Carlos asked. He took a drink of his bottled beer.

"Jake is a good kid. I highly doubt he will let the virus take control of him like Wesker did. I'm going to take him to Central for some tests. There has to be a cure for it."

"If he has Wesker's virus, how is that going to affect the C-Vaccine if more needs to be created? I know there is still a lot going on over in China and other smaller locations."

Rebecca had a point. Chris thought on it for a moment. "As far as I know, they were able to get enough blood from Jake to create well over enough of the vaccine. Let's hope it stays that way."

"So, if Leon and Sherry don't come back with Jake, we need to spread out and go search for him?" Barry inquired.

"If it isn't a problem for any of you guys, I would appreciate it. The virus has made Jake very unstable. I don't want him hurting others or himself. He could draw unwanted attention, or become a liability. I can't have that happening."

"So we aren't grilling burgers tonight?" Carlos asked.

The women stifled some laughs, but Billy went ahead and thumped Carlos for Chris. Chris heaved a sigh. He knew they were all hungry. He just wished he had remembered about the grill tonight to have cancelled it.

Just as Chris was going to suggest something, he heard a vehicle pulling into the driveway. The headlights flashed through the blinds in the windows. That had to be them. Claire looked out the window to make sure for them.

"It's Leon."

"Is Jake with them?"

"Hard to tell. It's dark outside."

As Jill went to turn on the porch light, the front door opened up and Leon entered. He cast his eyes across the open living room, a wry smile forming on his lips.

"Having a party or what?"

"Did you find him?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, just followed the trail of destruction in his wake."

"He didn't catch any unwanted attention, did he?"

"Or kill anyone?" Jill added.

Leon shook his head. "No, I called it in to keep it under wraps just in case, but we should be in the clear."

Just as Chris muttered his approval, Sherry and Jake finally entered into the house. Sherry closed the door behind them. She gave one last look to Jake, still looking hurt, before walking over to sit by Claire quietly.

Jake wasn't shy of the strangers staring at him. He glared at them all, his red and gold cat-like eyes only making it more threatening.

"What, did you call backup in case I turn into my father or something?"

Those words only seemed to confuse his comrades, though Barry quickly became suspicious. Chris rubbed the back of his neck, knowing now was the time to tell them.

"Jake, they all came here because they thought we were having a grill tonight. Everyone, this is Jake Muller, who helped save the world with his antibodies to the C-Virus. He is…Albert Wesker's son."

Carlos spit out his beer in a choke. No one bothered to pat him on the back, they were too busy in shock staring from Jake to Chris. Jake was not at all happy about the response, or the fact how Chris introduced him. He clenched his jaw, wondering if it would have been best to stay away after all.

"Yeah, nice to meet you assholes too."

He stomped away, leaving the living room and heading into the kitchen. Chris heard his back door open and slam shut. Sherry and Claire immediately went after the young ex-mercenary.

"Wesker's son?" Rebecca asked, startled.

"Seriously? You might as well have brought home a damn tiger to be safer, amigo," Carlos snorted.

"Chris, are you sure about this? Why didn't you say this before?" Barry asked.

"Look, I told you already…he's okay. He willingly went forth to give his blood for the C-Vaccine's creation. He is not like his father. A little rough around the edges, and admittedly a handful, but he's good. Just a stubborn kid who belongs here with us," Chris explained, looking between his friends.

That's all it took for Barry. He nodded. "There's a reason why you have been the leader for so long, Chris. For you to say that about his son…and how you believe in him, well…I believe in him too. You've never let us down before. I trust you, man."

"Thanks, Barry," Chris replied, patting his good friend on the shoulder.

"Same here," Rebecca added. "You've never given us a reason to doubt you. Personally, I'm not one to judge someone by their parents. If you say he's alright, I know he is."

"I'm not either. My parents are prime examples of that. I won't judge that boy for anything his father's done. If he has done alright by you then he will do alright by me," Billy said.

Everyone looked to Carlos, who grumbled at their stares. "Fine…whatever. I trust your judgment, Chris. If only for your taste in wives," he jokingly winked at Jill.

She rewarded his comment with a crooked smile, and Chris cleared his throat audibly. Finally, he dipped his head. "Thank you all. You're gonna get used to seeing him around. He's on our side, and I know he will prove it."

"Just be prepared. He has quite a mouth, and likes to run it. If he's rude to you, just shake it off. It's an old defense habit. He'll come around on his own accord," Jill explained.

"Rebecca, tomorrow morning I will be bringing him to you for some tests. We need to figure out if we can make a cure for this," Chris said.

Rebecca nodded. "Of course. No problem."

"Alright, you guys better get going home. We will store all the grill stuff here. We can plan on doing it this weekend, sound good?"

Everyone agreed and got up. Chris realized that Claire was back in the house, and whispering with Leon. He figured Sherry was outside with Jake. Although he wanted to get the tests done right away, after all this mess, Chris knew it would be best for everyone to settle down, clear their heads and get on track tomorrow.

After Barry, Karen, Billy, Rebecca, and Carlos had said their goodbyes and left, Chris and Jill walked over to Claire and Leon.

"How's he doing out there?"

"Sherry is talking to him. I think he just wants to be left alone by everyone. Sherry seems real upset."

"Yeah, he keeps pushing her away…harshly I might add," Leon stated, folding his arms.

"He just doesn't want to hurt her. I don't think anyone of us can understand what he's going through right now. We have to give him time," Jill said.

"Let's give him some space. We'll pick up in the morning," Chris said.

"I better get going. I still need to figure out what's going on with Hunnigan. See you guys tomorrow." Leon hugged Claire, and headed out the door.

Claire turned to the other two Redfields. "So, where's Jake gonna stay tonight? Guest room?"

"It's a five bedroom, three and a half bathroom house…I think we can squeeze him in."

"For now," Jill grumbled, thinking of children, only to add, "Is Sherry heading home? Jake could just go with her...just saying."

"I haven't checked with her, but probably."

"Let them finish up outside, and then we can figure out what's going on," Chris said.

The girls agreed, so they sat down to wait.

* * *

Jake leaned on the railing of the back patio, looking out to stars that seemed dimmed by countless lights below somehow. Where he lived in Edonia, the sky at night turned into a black void with the stars being so brilliant, it looked as though you could snatch one right out of the sky.

He was followed out here shortly by Sherry and Claire. The young man glanced at them, then turned his gaze back to the stars. Sherry's voice whispering to Claire reached his ears.

"Let me talk to him."

Claire waited for a moment longer, then returned inside the house to give them some privacy. Sherry joined him at his side by the railing, looking up at the stars. The two were silent for a long while, but Jake could tell she was struggling to think of something to say.

"I hate that the city lights block out the stars so much."

He didn't say anything. Another long moment swept between them, and Sherry was staring at him. It was strange because Jake could actually feel her emotions. He blamed the virus for it. His senses must have been going haywire once again. Now he could actually feel how hurt she was, how worried she was and had been for him. In return, it hurt him, because he knew he had caused that within her.

"Jake…please talk to me."

"I'm sorry."

She was quiet for a moment, but he felt a little relief come from her. "Sorry about what?"

He lowered his eyes. Instead of the stars, he was looking to the grass below the deck. "Pushing you away…hurting you. I just…don't want you to see me like this. I don't want you getting hurt by me because of this damn virus."

"It's okay. You know…you're right. None of us can understand what you are going through. But we want to help you Jake. We all care about you."

"I know…it's just…I'm not used to people caring about me. I'm not used to caring about others either."

He felt Sherry's hand touch his. The soothing touch seemed to relax him, and he started feeling better. Jake looked to her, seeing that smile that he seemed to have missed for ages. He soon looked away though, and moved his hand.

"How can you look at me while I'm like this?"

"Jake, I don't care about the virus or its effects on you. I care about you."

"Was it true about what Leon said?"

"About what?"

"That you all have scars from my father?"

Sherry looked away. "Mentally and physically…yes."

"You too?"

Sherry was quiet for a long moment, her lips thinning. She finally sighed. "About a year after Raccoon City, I was still being held in a government building. They were doing all the tests just like before when I told you. Leon and Claire were my only link to the outside…the only ones who came and saw me. And at the time, it was Leon who was able to see me more while Claire was struggling to help Chris create an underground movement against Umbrella.

But he had made a promise to the government in exchange for my safety. He was doing a lot of training for his role as a government agent. So it seemed that his visits were few and far in between.

One day, I heard a panic going through the hallways. There was screaming and gunfire, and I had no idea what was going on. Normally, if there was an emergency the alarms would be going off, but there were none.

Then suddenly, Wesker came into my room. He had killed so many people to get to me because he wanted the G-Virus that was still in me. Your father took me away from my room, and promised me freedom if I went with him.

It just so happened that Leon showed up to visit me, and saw what was going on. He was able to catch up to us before Wesker could get me in his car in the underground parking lot. Leon knew who Wesker was only through Chris and Claire, but it was his first time facing him and his inhuman powers."

Sherry paused for a moment. Jake looked to her. He saw sadness there, and guilt. It was like she was remembering it as if it was yesterday.

"Of course Leon tried to protect me. But Wesker quickly broke him down and threw him into the concrete wall. Stabbed him with his own knife in the ribs. He was going to finish him too, but I stopped him. I stepped between him and Leon and begged him to stop. Leon just told me to run, but I knew I had to protect him in some way - like he and Claire had protected me. I told him that. I think Wesker admired that or something…because he left. I was left behind, with Leon bleeding heavily."

Jake didn't know what to think about the story. She was definitely telling the truth, but he could tell she was leaving out some important details that just didn't make sense. Wesker Jr. didn't understand why, but didn't question her on it either.

"I guess I owe Leon an apology then."

Sherry twitched a smile. "These are all great people here. None of them are going to judge you, and they have been in this war since the beginning. You will fit in nicely with all of us. You belong here."

"Fit in huh?" Jake snorted. "I don't think I'm gonna fit in much anywhere like I am now."

Sherry looked back up to the stars. "We'll figure it out. They've created a cure for the other viruses…how could this one be any different?"

"Maybe…"

"Come on, let's go inside. We can figure out what our plans are tonight and tomorrow."

Jake took a last look at the twinkling stars and followed her inside, defeated.

* * *

The infirmary in Evan's underground base looked them over good. The Camaro was disposed of not long after they arrived in it. Ada only had a painful bump on her forehead, but it was Rurik who had to get the larger amount of help. According to the doctor, his wrist was broken, but his elbow had only been pulled out of socket. The tendons were torn and pulled around it, but it would be fine.

They wrapped his elbow lightly, but his wrist had to get a cast. Looking at him now, Ada didn't figure he would be doing any fighting for a while, but knowing Rurik, he would be right back out there.

She was waiting for their checkups to be over so she could start trying to get answers out of him. The female assassin was sick of being left in the dark. After the hell they just went through, he owed her that much. Ada didn't care if she believed him or not, he was going to tell her.

But before their checkup could end, the door opened to their room, and Evan Fox came walking in. She was expecting anger or annoyance, but instead she was greeted by a sly smile on his lips. This put her on edge, and she saw Rurik narrow his eyes.

"Well, you two look a little worse for wear. What happened?"

Ada was about to tell him the truth, but caught Rurik's eye before she could open her mouth. For obvious reasons, he didn't want Evan to know that Jake now had Wesker's virus. Ada decided to coolly come up with an alternate story.

"Rurik wanted to talk to Jake. He got his ass his kicked."

"And you?"

"This bump?" Ada shrugged. "From me being in the way."

Evan turned to Rurik. "Well Mr. Death? Why did you want to talk to Jake Wesker?"

"It's Muller."

"Are you that much in denial of whose son he is? Or do you want to be his father that bad that you choose to ignore the truth?"

This was a new light. Ada looked to Rurik, who had glared at Evan for his words. "I talked to him because I wanted him to forgive me."

"And he didn't. How lackluster," Evan chuckled.

The new Chief Security Advisor turned away from the Russian mercenary. Ada had heard from other researchers that Evan had been gone for several hours. Ada decided to pry, but in a charming way of course.

"So where have you been? Were you moving Samuel's body or did you finally meet a girl?"

"I was hacking the FOS for information I wanted. Had to leave a bit early though. Something came up in my secret project. It's why I'm in such a good mood, you see. My men will bring me the information once they finish up."

Ada raised an eyebrow. "So, what came up in your secret project? I feel childish saying that by the way, just for the record."

"Well, that's why I'm here. I decided I'm going to show you two. After four long years, it has finally been a success."

Ada glanced to Rurik. He was giving her his patented look of _I told you so_…either that or it was _go to hell_. Ada flicked her eyes back up to Mr. Fox. "You mean no more games? I'm all for it. Lead the way, Evan, I'm right behind you."

"Very well. I'm sure you'll be most surprised, Ada."

Ada and Rurik got up off their seats and started following the temporary Family leader. She showed indifference to them, but was cautious underneath. The assassin knew Evan was up to something, and she was ready for it. Rurik seemed to know what he was talking about. It was about time she got on the same page as them. Ada hated playing in the dark, unless it was on her terms.

They walked through several sections of the underground complex, bypassing all the laboratories that could have ever housed any secret projects of his, and were heading for his office. Something didn't feel right. Ada always listened to her gut and it was telling her this was a bad idea. There was no way out of it, but she kept her suspicions under wraps.

As they entered into his office, Ada felt her instinct stronger than ever wanting to turn back. She was the last to enter behind Evan and Rurik, and the door closed behind her in such a rush that she didn't even realize that one of Evan's men was there to do it.

A split second later she didn't even care. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as her eyes came upon something she thought she would never see again. It took all of her willpower to remain composed. Now Ada understood what Rurik had meant when he said she would never believe him if he just told her. He had been right. She was staring at a ghost - one that was all too real. And the smirk that formed upon his lips informed her that he remembered everything from his previous life.

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow, I think this might be my longest chapter EVER! O.o Hope you all enjoyed it though lol. Think it ended up being two chapters in one! I want to thank my good friend Ravenlaughter once again for helping me with this chapter, editing, helping me with some changes, and all that! You are the best! I am very happy for this outcome, and I can't get started on the next chapter! And sorry everyone for the lateness, I had some crap come up in my life that was very unexpected and harsh! :/ Anyways, I don't have much else to say except thank you EVERYONE who has been tagging along for this story so far, with all your support. It's about to pay off with all the waiting because shit is about hit the fan lol. ;) Thanks for all the faves/alerts/reviews so far. Enjoy! :D**


	11. Chapter 10: Birds of a Feather

**Chapter 10: Birds of a Feather**

Sherry's apartment was located in a gated community in Landover, about twenty minutes from Chris' neighborhood. Since Jake's motorcycle had been totaled in the chaos earlier this day, Claire had offered to drive Sherry and Jake to the apartment in her silver Toyota Camry. Jake let his friend sit up front in the passenger seat by Claire and took the backseat himself. He was silent the whole ride, not saying a single word, though he listened to Claire and Sherry's conversation the ride over.

Sherry was able to get them inside the gated community with her ID card. Claire pulled the car around the parking area closest to where Sherry's apartment would be. The apartment complex consisted of three separate buildings with enough room for three floors in each of them. The main office building was just on the left upon entering the automatic gate, flanked by a building straight ahead and one more to their right. Sherry's home was in the one on the right, but around back on the second floor.

As soon as Claire had parked the car and the locks released, Jake got out of there. Sherry hesitated, turning to Claire with a weak smile.

"Thanks for the ride. We won't need a ride tomorrow since I have my car here."

Claire nodded. "Not a problem, Sher. Are you sure you two are gonna be alright?"

"Don't worry about us. I can handle Jake. We'll meet Chris at Central in the morning just as planned."

"Alright. Take care you two. See you tomorrow!"

The two women hugged and said their goodnights before Sherry got out of the car. Claire waited to leave until they were walking up the concrete steps up to the second floor of the apartment building. Sherry led Jake to her apartment, room 204C, once they were on the upper floor. She unlocked it and let them inside; she flipped on the switch for the lights.

Jake curiously looked around her quiet little one bedroom apartment. The kitchen was on their right just up from the front entrance, and the utility room on the left hidden behind closed doors. Sherry's large living room was decorated with cream colored walls, darker curtains and soft white carpet. The wooden floor started at the entrance and reached into the kitchen and part of the living room. Just up from the kitchen's bar with its three bar stools stood a large, heavy bookshelf full of books, tall and proud. Beside it, a small entertainment center with a TV, as well as a simple but elegant brown leather couch with a glass coffee table in front of it. A small, clean bathroom was on the other side of the utility closet, with a door connecting it to the only bedroom.

"Well, looks like your things arrived no problem. I'm gonna have to ask Leon how he was able to get this delivered here without my notice," Sherry stated, pointing to the two black duffle bags on the floor by the front entrance.

"Don't ask me. Kennedy said he would handle it. I had that talk with Redfield to worry about."

"Is that all you brought? Are you sure you've got enough clothes and stuff?"

Jake shrugged. "I never carry much with me. Just a habit. It would have been way more had I brought some of my money, but I didn't want any trouble from customs. So I got myself a universal account so I can handle myself while I am here."

"Do I want to know?"

"I have a few million in my account."

Sherry's eyes widened comically. "Holy sh…why so much?"

Jake slightly smiled, rubbing his hand along the smooth, clean granite countertops in the kitchen. "From all my work as a mercenary throughout the years."

"So the prices you told me when we first met applied to everyone, huh? But why save it all?"

Jake looked away from her, lips twitching. "The only reason I got into mercenary work was to help my mom and me survive better. We were dirt poor and I had to take care of her while she was sick. I was determined to get her the healthcare she needed with the money I made. Once she died…I saw no point to spend it on anything else and just kept putting it back. I lived on necessities for the longest time."

"And the house you and your mother lived in?" Sherry inquired, walking over to Jake away from his bags on the floor.

"I got the deed to it not long after she died, but I didn't want anything to do with it. Too many memories."

"So…you sold it?"

Jake shook his head, looking back at her. "Burned it down."

Just when Sherry was starting to believe she knew Jake, he would let her in on some more of his unsteady past. She looked away, knowing that this whole time he didn't have a home to go to. He had plenty of funds to buy a new home now, but the money had turned into his only care in the world after his mother passed. The reason he was so obsessed with it in the beginning wasn't over greed, it was leftover from a need to collect it for something he no longer could use it for, and in that traumatic experience, had lost all faith and trust in others and put what little he had left into cold hard cash.

Sherry decided it better to change the subject. "Well…go ahead and make yourself at home. There's a shower, and if you are hungry I have some food in the fridge."

The young man barely nodded at her words, his eyes refocusing on looking around the apartment. He crossed the living room, deciding to peek outside through the window.

"You said you had a car. Which one is it?"

Sherry joined him at the window, looking for it parked in the spots below. She pointed it out to him. "That one. The white Nissan Sentra."

Jake smirked. "Just the kind of car I figured you for, but seriously…white? Kinda boring don't you think, super girl?"

Sherry smacked his arm. "Very funny. And FYI, the government is paying for all of this so I'm not being too picky on anything."

"Fair enough." He grinned, amused at how riled up his friend got about his teasing.

Sherry checked her phone. "Leon is supposed to stop by in a bit and let me know what's going on. While we were searching for you, something came up at FOS Headquarters. I think Hunnigan's okay, but he said something about Evan Fox digging up any information he could on you. All of us actually. That guy is up to no good, I tell you…"

"Sounds like this bastard is no different from your last boss", Jake frowned.

"Agreed. I just hope we can stop him before he does something as bad as Simmons. I'm sure Leon will fill us in. Now, are you going to take a shower?"

"What, do I smell or something?" Upset that he might smell, the tall, handsome redhead quickly lifted his arms to sniff at his armpits in an almost comical manner.

Sherry smiled, emitting a small laugh. "No, I just figured you would want one after…a day like this. Plus, I would like one too, so if you aren't going to then I will."

Jake relaxed somewhat when Sherry laughed. The day had surely taken a toll on the two of them. The ex-mercenary had done even more damage with his behavior and hurtful words earlier. Even though he still believed he had done the right thing by trying to distance himself from her to protect her, he was glad to be back in her company once more and didn't want to leave from her side again. The virus' damage on him had subsided to the point where he almost felt like himself again, although he could still feel dull aching in his skull.

"Go ahead, super girl. I'll crash on the couch until you get out and then I will take one."

Sherry smiled and nodded. "Okay. Make yourself at home. I'll be right out."

The young DSO agent left the living room into her bedroom as Jake watched her go. When she opened her bedroom door and flicked on the lights, he got a glance of the room from where he stood. Obviously, the bedroom showed the same, simple decor that was out here - same colors, same cleanliness. Her queen sized bed, obviously the most prominent piece of furniture in her sleeping quarters, was decorated with a nice, comforting set in the colors of light blue and chocolate brown. Sherry shut the door behind her, and few moments later the outside door to the bathroom was closed and locked as well.

As soon as he heard the shower start, Jake relaxed and sighed. Walking over to the couch, he decided to keep to his word and crash out on it until she was done. Before he could do so however, he was hit with another sharp stab of pain to his head. The crippling pain was enough to bend him over, but Jake bit his tongue to keep from verbally expressing the pain. The last thing he wanted was to have Sherry hear him scream and get worried again. For a moment he thought his senses were about to go nuts like before, but soon the pain subsided, and with it came a sudden, untamable urge of ravenous hunger.

"Son of a bitch," he growled, rubbing his stomach.

Just like with the insatiable thirst that had overcome him at the pond in Rockville, the young man now suddenly felt like he hadn't eaten in days, maybe months. Jake made his way to the kitchen, determined to take out the sudden onset of hunger. He went through the cabinets, knowing that he should cook something, after all Jake was used to cooking, cleaning, and chores since a young age due to him taking care of his sick mother. After a moment of thinking he decided he couldn't be bothered though, not after a day like this.

He grabbed a box of cereal and opened it. While searching for more food, he downed the whole box, not bothering with a bowl or even milk. He finished the box just as he fished out a bag of grapes from the refrigerator.

"Wow…that hungry, huh?" came an incredulous voice from behind him.

Jake turned to see Sherry there, wearing much more comfy clothes - a white shirt and light blue boxers. Either he had taken a lot longer than he thought scrounging for food or she took really quick showers.

"Sorry, this fucking appetite hit me out of nowhere. I felt like I haven't eaten in days all of a sudden."

He rubbed his eyes, feeling the appetite slowly start to subside. Sherry had walked over to him, checking out the empty box of cereal and now nearly empty bag of grapes. She instantly noticed Jake wince and feel the back of his head cautiously.

"Are you alright?" She frowned.

"Yeah, just wish this damn virus would stop trying to kill me," he grimaced.

"Maybe it enhanced your metabolism the same way it did everything else. Would make sense why you're that hungry all of a sudden…especially with all the running around you did after changing."

"Yeah, I guess." He rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.

Sherry touched his arm lightly, worried. "How about you go take a shower? It should help with the headache. I'll cook something real quick; it will only take a few minutes."

"Don't bother, the hunger's gone," Jake replied. He took a moment to take in Sherry's appearance this close up, particularly, how silky smooth her ivory skin looked. Catching himself, he shook his head. "Yeah, I better go take a shower. Sorry about ransacking your kitchen."

Sherry shook her head, though she twitched a smile. "It's fine, Jake. I'm just glad you're okay."

He closed the door behind him and took a moment to gather himself, then look over the bathroom. It was modern and clean, with eggshell colored walls lined with a peach colored border. There was a large closet nearest to the bedroom, a glass and wood cabinet next to the vanity and sink and on the other side, the toilet. The far left wall held a garden tub looking clean and hardly used. The stand in shower stood just next to it, with fresh water still draining down its glass panels in dripping streams.

As Jake started stripping off his clothes, feeling exactly how much his muscles were aching now, he noticed that Sherry had set him out some towels and unscented body wash and shampoo to avoid having him use her girly smelling stuff.

He snorted quietly, smirking. Jake got into the shower and turned the water on to as hot as he could stand. For a few moments, he did nothing but let the shower spray hot water over his tired body, feeling it wash away the caked blood, dirt, pain, stress and trauma of today. The steaming shower did seem to slowly dissipate the pain that was plaguing his head once more. Once he started feeling more like himself, he grabbed up the shampoo to scrub away the last remainders of this horrid day.

* * *

Sherry waited until she heard the water start running in the shower before she decided to clean the mess up in the kitchen. It didn't take her long, but she contemplated on whether or not she should cook an actual meal for them. Thinking back on the day, they hadn't eaten since noon at their lunch date. Looking at the clock hanging in the kitchen, she noticed it was almost ten-thirty. She was actually surprised at the time; it felt much later than it was, probably due to the chaos of today. However, now that she had a moment to sit still and think with the stress finally falling off of her, she realized exactly how hungry she was.

The young woman decided it would be best to go through with cooking something after all. She knew Jake well enough to know that he was going to be too proud to say anything if he really was still hungry or not.

As she started thinking on what she would cook, Sherry moved Jake's duffle bags into the living room by the couch. She had told Jake that he could sleep on her couch, but once noticing Jake's height compared to the couch, she realized it wasn't going to work really well.

_I'll just give him my bed and sleep on the couch myself. No big deal._

The couch was more her size anyway. Sherry had a feeling that Jake was going to argue with her over it, but she'd be ready for it.

Just as she made it into the kitchen to start scrounging up dinner, the shower turned off. She soon realized she didn't have anything pulled out - that severely limited her choices on what to cook. For a moment, Sherry considered going to pick something up and glanced at the clock again. A few places were still open at this time, though on a side note she also wondered where the hell Leon was. Hopefully everything was alright, he still hadn't answered her.

The young woman withdrew from her thoughts when she heard the bathroom door open. Some steam rolled out into the living area leftover from the shower as Jake stepped out, wearing nothing but his black pants, and his skin glistened from still being a little wet. He was rubbing the top of his head with a towel - excess water flowing from his auburn hair in the process - while his other hand held his shirt, belt and gun holster with loaded gun. Looking for his bags by the door first, he was soon joined by Sherry in the living room.

"I moved them over here, if that's okay," she told him.

Her friend turned to look at her, nodding once he saw where they were. He withdrew his gun from its holster and sat it on the bar before walking over to her and his bags.

"Thanks for the shower. God, I needed that. Good to finally take one with decent water pressure for once," he joked.

Sherry hardly took notice to his flippant chatter. Her eyes were focused on his chest now that they were inches apart. Jake must have noticed her stare, because soon a smirk was easing on his lips. He acted like he was about to make another smartass remark until Sherry lifted her hand and touched him right on the spot where the bullet had pierced through his heart.

Sherry heard him grunt, and his face fell. She lightly brushed her fingers across the area, though there was no sign of a bullet having ever hit him anymore - there wasn't even a scar. The female agent thought back to that moment that happened only hours ago, remembering how terrified and heartbroken she had been. She had thought she had lost him forever and felt a pain unlike any other before; like it had been her that had been shot through the heart instead of him.

"Did…did that really happen? When you…" She swallowed. "I thought I lost you…" she whispered, blinking away tears that threatened to fall.

She felt strong, but gentle fingers wrap around her hand, and her eyes moved up to meet his. He didn't move her hand from over his heart, but he kept ahold of her fingers. Their eyes were locked, and Sherry was able to see past those inhuman eyes to his soul, which she was relieved to find unchanged from the virus.

Jake acted like he was going to say something, but no words formed on his lips. His silence didn't matter a moment later when he was leaning towards her, his eyes closing. Sherry's heart skipped a beat and stumbled, and she could do nothing but stand still like a deer caught in headlights and wait for what was about to happen. She didn't remember consciously closing her eyes as well, but they fell shut anyway like under a spell.

Suddenly a polite knocking came from the front door, and the spell broke abruptly. Jake drew away from her, his jaw clenched. Sherry blinked, throwing a confused look towards the front door.

"That's Leon," she stated, voice cracking.

"Right on time as always," Jake snorted in an annoyed tone. "Well, I guess while you tend to Hero, I better go change into clean clothes."

Jake picked up one of the duffle bags and left her side, disappearing into the bathroom once more. The door shut behind him, though a little harder than intended. Sherry was still in shock, her mind and heart racing on what almost happened, when another round of knocking came from the front door.

"Coming!" she called.

Sherry left the living room and passed the kitchen, heading to the foyer area to answer the front door. She had to compose herself, knowing that she could figure out what exactly happened between her and Jake later. Now was the time to get with Leon and see what was going on at the FOS Headquarters and with Chief Security Advisor Evan Fox. She hoped Hunnigan was at least okay, but she was sure Leon would give her full details.

The blonde agent unlocked the door and opened it, smiling a greeting at her good friend, father figure and fellow DSO agent. However, her face soon fell as she realized the man that stood in front of her wasn't Leon at all. She was greeted with an all knowing smirk and the delightful flashing of red and gold inhuman eyes.

* * *

Leon had a lot on his mind as he reached the White House in record timing. As he entered the government premises he was escorted to the Oval Office where he was told Hunnigan and the President awaited him.

President Reed sat in his leather chair at his desk as he entered the office. Leon quickly looked for Hunnigan, and found her safe and sound in her own chair. She jumped up at his entry, whirling around to face him. Leon went to her to see if she was okay, and was surprised when his mission coordinator and good friend suddenly wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh Leon, thank God. I was so worried."

It was unlike Hunnigan to hug him, and so the experienced agent was sure the FSO director was still a little rattled from her close call earlier. He was relieved to see her unharmed though.

"I could say the same thing. Now, what's going on?"

"We were in the middle of that before you showed up."

The other woman's voice caught him off guard. He hadn't even realized there was someone else in here besides Hunnigan and President Reed upon entering. Leon turned to see a familiar woman dressed in formal business attire on the other side of President Reed's desk. Her curly red hair, blue eyes and glasses stood out indefinitely. It was Patricia Morgan, the North American director of the BSAA, and one of the Twelve Originals like Chris and Jill. Leon had only met her a couple of times.

"I know Agent Kennedy well enough to know that his late entry was of importance," President Reed explained. He then motioned to the DSO agent. "Leon, we have much to discuss."

"Of course, Mr. President. But…no offense, but why is Director Morgan here?"

"High class confidential information was taken out of the BSAA directory archives during the hacking attack that took place at the FOS Headquarters. I'm here to figure out who's behind this."

"I told you, it was Evan Fox. I saw him."

President Reed sighed. "We don't doubt you, Ingrid. But there was no sign of Chief Security Advisor Fox anywhere when the FBI arrived at the FOS building. None of these men who supposedly came after you were there either."

Leon turned to Hunnigan. "Weren't there other coordinators there? Where are they?"

"Yes, there were a few of us left for the night," Hunnigan answered, and she motioned to the President. "I told you that. What did they say?"

"As far as I'm concerned the other coordinators said that Evan's actions were within his legislation. I have no proof right now stating otherwise. There is no evidence that he stole any information from the databases of either BSAA or FSO."

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Hunnigan yelled, frustrated.

"Were you not able to record this in any way?" Patricia asked, arms folded.

Ingrid shook her head. "No, he had the whole system locked. I couldn't upload anything. But I hacked into the mainframe. I saw him taking the data. It _was_ Fox!"

Leon clenched his jaw, sighed and turned to the President. "Where is he now? If he's so innocent, why isn't he here?"

President Reed leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead, deep in thought. "Well, that's the problem - I can't get a hold of him. But I assure you, I will get him here, and we will be having a meeting and a full investigation on the matter. Hunnigan, I know you wouldn't lie, but until I have undeniable proof there is nothing I can do about the Chief Security Advisor." He then turned to the BSAA Director. "Until then, I advise that you fix your systems with tighter security, Trish. I'm sorry."

The red headed woman seemed annoyed. "Yeah, that's easier said than done. Our systems were already as tight as the Pentagon's. I'm not going to stand by and let you play politics with this matter, Mr. President. That data that was stolen could be a real threat to global security. If you don't find Fox and get this case solved, I will; and don't think I won't. I have this country and the whole damn world to protect and I'm not going to let anyone threaten that. I already have enough on my plate with the C-Virus outbreaks still in the process of being quarantined in China and parts of Europe, as well as another one of those huge Leviathan BOWs being let loose into the oceans and we haven't even been able to kill the first one yet."

The BSAA Director took her leave, though she paused in the doorway as a Secret Service agent opened the door for her. She turned to look back at the President, and soon Leon realized she was looking to him and to Hunnigan as well.

"This wouldn't have happened if Adam was still alive."

She then left, the door being shut behind her. Leon glanced to Hunnigan, who was just as surprised by the director's words as he was. They looked to President Reed, expecting him to be offended or upset, but instead they were greeted with a weak smile and chuckle.

"I agree."

"Sir, I'm sure she is just upset over-"

The President interrupted Leon. "No, she's right. I should have bettered my preparations as President…but I guess I was just hoping…and expecting a full term as Vice President, nothing more." He heaved a sigh, pausing to think for a moment before nodding to Leon and Hunnigan. "You two better head out. I will see what I can do about Chief Security Advisor Fox. Until then, I would watch my back. You two are dismissed."

Leon and Hunnigan left together. They walked side by side down the hallway, heading for the exit to go home for the night. After a moment, Leon eased them into a stop. Hunnigan watched him closely. The hardened agent was deep in thought, rubbing his stubble on his chin.

"Hunnigan, did Fox see you at the FOS Headquarters?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. His suits who caught me never saw my face either, but I guess it wouldn't be hard for him to guess it was me."

He barely nodded in acknowledgement. "I think it would be best for you to avoid going home for now. I don't want to put you in danger in case Fox tries anything."

Hunnigan seemed a little confused. "So where am I supposed to go then? I can't stay here…it's against regulations. I guess I should rent a room then?"

Leon thought for a moment. "Do you know where Helena lives?"

"Yes."

"Head to her house. I'll call her and let her know what's going on."

Hunnigan nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Leon. You be careful."

Leon put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "You too, Hunnigan. Keep in touch."

The FOS mission coordinator left his side and headed out. Leon stayed back, his mind thinking over everything. He still had to get over to Sherry's to inform her about what was going on. His stay here had already taken longer than intended. It was better to make sure his fellow agent would be prepared, in case Fox really did steal all the data on them, including Jake. On the drive over to her apartment, he'd call Helena and give her a heads up as well. They all needed to be prepared for what was to come. Leon had a nagging feeling that things were about to get dicey.

* * *

Sherry's mind was reeling, the hair on the back of her neck rising as she nervously backed away from the door. The man before her was not someone she knew, came off as familiar though and had an aura that definitely put her on edge.

The uninvited guest was tall and handsome, looking to be in his mid-thirties. He wore a slim fit black European style suit with a white shirt underneath, though there was no tie or bow to go with it. His short hair was dirty blond and styled back, the eyes though weren't human but matched Jake's transformed eyes; they matched Wesker's.

"Sherry Birkin? I'm sorry to bother you at such an hour, but I am here on important business. May I come in?"

Her lack of an answer caused him to step over the threshold into the apartment. Sherry stepped back some more, still trying to figure out why he came off as so familiar, and why he had those eyes. He eased her a barely-there smile, one that flashed in her memory. Slowly, the man shut the door behind him; his movements brought her back to someone from her past.

_Wesker!_

But he wasn't Wesker. The tyrant before her was too young to be him, even though he looked very similar to the man she had once considered an uncle. And just like that, it came to her; she couldn't understand why she hadn't seen it until now. Realization must have come upon her face because the man was peering at her with amusement.

"What's wrong, love? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Alex? Alex Wesker?" she grunted, terrified.

"The one and only," he chuckled.

Sherry didn't have a weapon on her. She felt for one, but of course she was unarmed since she was already in her pajamas. The young woman then instantly remembered Jake putting his handgun on her bar, and darted back for it. She had grabbed it within seconds and aimed it at Alex, but he had never moved from the spot he stood in.

"Jake!"

Alex was holding his arms up to show he meant no harm, though he took a couple of steps toward her. Jake barged out of the bathroom, still wearing only a clean pair of black cargo pants. He looked to Sherry in a hurry, having heard her cry for help and ready for action. He followed the gun barrel to see Alex standing not too far away.

"The hell? Who the fuck are you?!" Jake snapped, pulling Sherry behind him.

"It's Alex!" Sherry exclaimed.

Jake's eyes flashed dangerously, and he glared across to his uncle. He hadn't expected to meet him so soon. Alex just stood there, calm and quiet, arms still up to show he was no threat. This didn't ease Jake or Sherry one bit though.

"You make one more move and I'll tear you limb from limb!" Jake threatened.

Alex offered them a crooked smile. "Relax, nephew. If I wanted the two of you dead, you would be dead by now."

"Oh yeah?! Like hell!"

He went to lunge forward, but Sherry caught his arm. "Jake, no! We have no idea what he's capable of!"

"I just want to chit-chat. Is there something wrong with that? Seeing as I am your only family left, it's my responsibility to look after you."

"You are a murderer just like my father."

Alex slightly cocked his head. "Oh? Says who? I've been keeping to my own business all these years. I haven't tried to destroy the world or anything like dear 'ol brother Albert. I say that makes me a pretty swell guy all on its own."

"I heard all about you from Redfield and my aunt, so cut the crap."

"You mean Captain Chris Redfield? The same man who killed your father, my brother dearest who, despite the rational reasoning, was still our family? And he judges me because I share the same name? The same blood? Does he judge you like this as well? How predictable…"

Jake lowered his eyes, the words hitting a nerve.

"That's what I thought. But more importantly, I'm here to discuss a much more sinister plot. I see you have been injected with the same virus as your father and I. How did this come about?"

"It was Rurik Ginovaef, my old mentor. Bastard betrayed me. Stabbed that dirt right into my fucking neck and then shot me to top it off. If I get my hands on him, that prick's gonna pay – interest included."

"I see," Alex replied thoughtfully, glancing away. "He worked for me before. Ginovaef is the type of man that cannot be trusted so easily. But I'd be lying if I said I hadn't planned the same outcome for you."

"What?!" Jake looked about ready to pounce the unwanted intruder.

Sherry cocked the gun she was still holding and shot Alex a scorching look, hoping he would drop dead and save her the trouble.

Alex smirked. "I was going to ask you to take it, not make you. May I ask why he injected you with it? Did he say?"

"Jake, we shouldn't be telling him anything. We can't trust him," Sherry interrupted, grabbing his arm from behind.

The newborn tyrant slightly glanced back at her, but then focused on his uncle once more. "He said he was doing it as a favor, to save my life or some shit. Something about a big threat coming our way. Does it matter?"

Alex nodded. "Sounds like Rurik and I are on the same page then. There is a threat coming our way. And that is why I am here. I seek your help, nephew. But I also want to do what I can to protect you."

Jake clenched his jaw. "What the fuck are you all talking about? What fucking threat? I'm sick of hearing everyone yap about it and then not being told what it is!"

"The Family. China was just the beginning, and now they have an ace that they are about to deal…one that will put all of us at a very dangerous disadvantage. I have been working to stop the Family for years. I think this could be our chance to stop them once and for all. We have mutual goals, Jake. Think about it; with the power we both wield from our viruses, I know we can stop them together."

"What the hell makes you think I'm gonna trust you?" Jake snapped, still keeping himself in front of Sherry.

"Well, I can train you on how to use your abilities to the fullest, get the most power out of the virus. It will enable you to be able to protect the ones you love from the peril coming our way."

Jake just scoffed. "You're gonna have to do better than that I'm afraid."

Alex chuckled, unimpressed. "Fine. I've got something that you could make good use of once this is all over. I can tell that you despise the virus running through your veins, the legacy that made us Wesker Children who we are. When this is all over, and the threat has been disposed of and the Family dismantled…I'll give you the cure to become human again."

This got Jake's attention. "You have the cure?!"

Alex smiled, nodding. "Of course. I have many cures. I'm a scientist after all."

"Where is it? Show it to me."

"It's in a safe place. I give you my word that I'll hand it over if you help me take down the Family."

"Why would you have the cure if you don't want to take it?" Jake growled.

Alex shrugged, though his red golden eyes stayed focused on Jake. "You never know when you might need it."

Jake grew quiet, though he was still guarded as he stood in front of Sherry. There was no way for them to know for sure whether Alex was telling the truth. But what if he was? For all he knew, it was his only chance to become human again. The tests at the BSAA Headquarters tomorrow could prove to be a dead end for him.

"Jake, we can't trust him!"

"So judgmental. Are all your friends like this, nephew? Because as far as I remember, Albert was the only one who caused so much destruction. And so we get arbitrated for it for sharing the same name and blood? What of the other Wesker Children put into the project and given the surname? Have you heard of any of them doing evil? How about your mother Laura? Is she judged too?"

"Shut up!" Jake snapped, finally running out of patience.

Alex dipped his head. "I've clearly overstepped my bounds with those words, I apologize. I'm just trying to look out for you. It does you no good to be with a group who when they look at you, see your father instead of the person you are."

"I don't see any of that when I look at Jake! I trust him! It's _you _I don't trust!" Sherry argued.

"Fair enough."

Alex put his hand into his pocket, and withdrew an item. Sherry's trigger finger twitched nervously, and she watched him suspiciously. He tossed the item across the way towards Jake. The son of Wesker was surprised at how quick his reflexes were from the virus as he caught whatever it was without looking. Opening his palm, he realized it was a sleek black smartphone. Puzzled, he looked back up at his uncle.

"I'll give you a day to think it over and then contact you on that phone. We don't have much time, Jake. I can understand your distrust of me, but I am only receiving the same kind of judgment that your comrades are giving you. I'm your blood, Jake, and I only wish to protect you. We're birds of a feather, after all."

Alex turned to leave the two of them, but Jake wasn't finished yet.

"I'll get tested tomorrow at the BSAA Headquarters for the cure to this damn virus. I might not need you or your vaccine."

Alex laughed derisively, catching Jake and Sherry off guard as he turned to face them once more. "Hate to disappoint you, Jake, but the BSAA won't be able to create the cure to our virus so easily. It'll take the organization years…maybe even a decade. Our virus is derived from the Progenitor Virus; much more complicated than such strands like the T or G. In which case, I must point out that even with such outdated viruses as the T and G, the BSAA was only lucky enough to create the vaccines when it did with the help of immune hosts like Sherry for the G and Jill Valentine for the T."

Jake clenched his jaw so hard he almost cracked his teeth, hoping it wasn't true. He already had a gut wrenching feeling that Alex was telling the truth, however.

"If you stand around and wait for their vaccine, you'll have already accepted your inhuman abilities and not want it anymore."

Before Jake could demand what that was supposed to mean, his uncle continued on with his speech.

"Besides, my cure is flawless. I have used it on other Wesker Children who wanted their humanity back. It cured them of the many sicknesses their viruses gave them. Only the true blooded Wesker Children - Albert and yours truly - were not afflicted with such weaknesses, and instead reaped the benefits; but not the others. Most were destroyed by the virus instantly…others lived and endured horrible sicknesses or debilitating consequences…"

Jake instantly thought back to what his aunt told him. He felt his heart clench in pain, his eyes lowering. "Mom…"

Alex frowned, letting out a small sigh. "Yes…I could have saved her. It would have cured her as well. Had I known where she was hiding, I would have gone to her."

Before Jake could really think on his uncle's words, he felt Sherry's hand squeeze his wrist. She came out from behind him, glaring daggers at Alex.

"Stop filling his head with your lies! Why in the world would you save the other Wesker Children? It makes no sense!"

"Sherry!" Jake grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Jake! Remember what Michelle said? He's just as bad as your father! Remember her telling you about the documents to Spencer about him killing over twenty thousand people for his experiments in the South Seas? The BSAA have those documents!"

Jake almost forgot. He glared over at his uncle. "She's right. Care to elaborate on that?"

Alex dipped his head, though his lips twitched as though he was a little annoyed by Sherry's direct ambush. "Twenty thousand is highly over exaggerated, but I will blame that on Lord Spencer's state of mind back then; the old man couldn't even remember what he had for breakfast and could hardly function his own body. Albert definitely put him out of his misery. I was doing experiments in the South Sea for my invaluable elixir of life…but my specimens were not…victims."

"What do you mean?"

"They were scum that no one would miss…murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug dealers…they all deserved to suffer and die. In a way, I feel I did some sort of cleansing for the world." Alex smirked in the most self-satisfied manner.

"And what's this elixir of life?" Jake barked.

They barely heard his chuckle. "How about you think on my offer, nephew? I have overstayed my welcome and need to get back to work." He looked to Sherry, then back to Jake. "I'll call you in 24 hours to see if you've made a decision. Together, I know we can take down the Family, and I give you my word on giving you the cure."

Alex turned and headed for the front door. Jake and Sherry remained silent and rooted to the spot, watching him closely and not stopping him this time. He grabbed a hold of the door knob, and opened the door. Jake's uncle looked over his shoulder one last time, a droll smile coming onto his handsome face. His eyes almost seemed to glow in the shadow of the foyer.

"You two have a good night." The younger brother of Albert Wesker then left and shut the door behind him.

The stunned pair stayed behind in silence, shocked, confused, and over all disturbed. The blonde agent just now realized how shaky she was from the experience. Jake stared at the door, as if half expecting Alex to bust it down and attack them once their guard was down. Just as Sherry was about to speak and to pull him out of his thoughts, he looked down at her.

"You alright?"

Sherry barely nodded. "Yeah…you?"

"Been better. Glad the jerk finally riverdanced outta here…that bloke gave me the creeps."

"We need to tell Chris and the others about this."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You're gonna bring Redfield up now? Again? Can we just go _one day_ without him riding our asses? I could care less about him right now after what just happened."

Sherry played with her fingers, still on edge from their meeting with Alex. "I'm sorry. It's just-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I get it," Jake grumbled, rubbing his palms over his shaved head.

Knocking came from the front door once more. Both whipped their heads around to stare at it, and Sherry jumped at the sound. She felt the gun being taken out of her hand as Jake glared at the door.

"Jesus Christ, what else can happen tonight?" he growled, stomping towards the door with gun in hand.

He tore open the door, aiming the gun at whoever stood out in the hallway. Jake saw Leon, but the DSO was so quick with his reflexes upon seeing a gun in his face, that he slammed Jake's extended arm into the wall and aimed his own gun. The two men ended up glaring at each other. Jake found himself surprised at Leon's fast moves and counter.

"The hell, Jake?!" Leon snapped.

With his strength, Jake was able to easily break Leon's hold, and the two men instantly backed off from each other. The ex-mercenary moved away from the door to let the older man inside the apartment.

"Sorry, thought you were someone else," Jake grumbled.

"Someone else?" Leon echoed as he entered into the apartment. He shut the door behind him and holstered his gun.

"Leon! Are you alright? Did you see him?" Sherry greeted, coming up and hugging him.

"I'm fine. What the hell is going on? See who?"

"Alex Wesker! He was here, he just left a moment ago!"

Jake left from their conversation, obviously irritated and unsettled. He put the gun down on the bar once more, and then leaned on the counter while Leon and Sherry stood not too far away.

"You can't be serious?" Leon inquired, looking troubled by the news.

"Why the hell would we be joking about this?" Jake barked.

He received a warning glare from the DSO agent, but Sherry butted in. "It was him! He looks a lot like Wesker, only younger…Alex was trying to get Jake to help him! He says he is trying to destroy the Family and would provide Jake the cure to the virus if he helped him!"

"Well, clearly we can't trust him," Leon stated.

"Why not?" Jake asked.

"Jake…please," Sherry said, turning to him.

"No, I'm just asking. Why can't we trust him?" Jake was glaring at Leon.

Leon was quiet at first, but not at all intimidated. "I know what you are trying to pull, Jake. It isn't going to work. We don't judge you like we do him."

"Riiiiight," Jake sneered, turning away with arms folded.

"I'm sorry, he's just-"

"It's fine," Leon interrupted Sherry, holding up his hand. "Look, I'll let you two deal with Alex. But I'm here to inform you that Fox was definitely behind everything at the FOS Headquarters. Problem is, there is no proof yet besides Hunnigan's word. President Reed can't do anything right now until a full investigation is done. Fox is also AWOL at the moment, so I need for you to be extra careful in case he plans on stirring up more shit. I had Hunnigan go stay with Helena to ensure her safety for now."

"Sounds like he's certainly up to something. Thanks for keeping me posted," Sherry replied.

Leon sighed. "Seems like we have trouble heading our way with Alex and Fox mixing things up, not to mention the Family…just be careful, alright kiddo?"

Sherry nodded, and the two hugged. Leon glanced over to Jake, who looked even more annoyed now. Taking his cue, the DSO agent decided to take his leave. Sherry followed him to the door.

"You two have a good night. Stay safe."

"You be careful, Leon…especially with Alex around."

"I will. See you in the morning."

He exited the apartment, and Sherry hung around by the front door for a moment, lost in thought after he left. Slowly, she returned back into the living room where Jake was pacing. His friend slightly glared at him. She understood how conflicted he must have been feeling, but there was no need for his attitude towards Leon.

"That was unfair towards Leon, Jake."

"What, it's unfair that I ask a simple question on why we don't trust Alex?"

"Do you trust Alex?"

Jake threw up his hands. "Hell no, I just want to make sure everyone else doesn't trust him for the right reasons, not just because he is my father's brother…"

"That's only fair I guess, but you know we aren't like that. Alex was just trying to mess with you, and you fell for it."

"Whether I trust him or not doesn't matter…I need that vaccine he has."

"We should wait how the tests go tomorrow morning before we start jumping on Alex's cure that may or may not be the real thing."

She was right. Jake heaved a sigh, his tense body slowly relaxing. "Okay, well…guess we should get to bed then, super girl."

Sherry was relieved and pointed over her shoulder towards her bedroom. "You can have my bed, the couch won't fit you."

"I'm used to sleeping on rocks, a small sofa isn't going to hurt me," Jake argued.

"Just go! I got the couch," she demanded.

Jake could tell she wasn't going to budge on it. Sighing, he said goodnight to her and disappeared into the bedroom. Sherry checked the front door to make sure it was locked, and then got out some extra pillows and blankets from the utility room.

Once all the lights were out, the young DSO agent laid down on the couch and pulled up the blanket to her chin. Her mind was buzzing from all that had happened today. She was no longer hungry due to Alex's unannounced appearance, but she hadn't expected to become so tired all of a sudden. Sherry was still on edge because of it, but soon realized exactly how exhausted she was.

It didn't take her long to doze off, and before she knew it, she was waking in a dream of the past. The dream was hazy at first, and Sherry found herself in a house so familiar, yet she had trouble remembering it.

Walking down the hallway, she realized how small she was. Coming into the living room, the haziness lifted, and with it her memory returned. She knew this house! This was her home back in Raccoon City. Her mother Annette was in the kitchen, talking on the phone. Sherry tried to get her attention but was shooed away. It felt so surreal, it was like she was reliving a moment in her past, and couldn't understand how it came about.

Her younger self went back into the living room where she saw her father William sitting on one couch, and Albert Wesker across from him on another. William was laughing about something, and Wesker wore his typical smirk on his face – the one she knew so well.

Sherry felt goose bumps upon hearing her parents' voices again, and even Wesker's. They sounded so clear, like they were real. Her younger self mumbled for attention, and surprisingly her needs were answered for once. William grabbed her up and sat her in his lap. While her father continued to talk to his best friend and partner, Sherry allowed herself to hug him. She looked around, seeing her stressed mother still talking on the phone in the kitchen. Hearing Wesker's voice affected her in a way she didn't think possible in a hazy dream.

It stirred up some interesting thoughts in the back of her mind as she listened intently to the deep, familiar sound of it, without truly understanding what he was talking about. Sherry had to have been eight or nine in her dream; Jake had to have been two or three around that time. She watched the man she had once considered an uncle, and wondered…did he even know he had a son somewhere? Back then…or ever?

But soon the dream sequence went on, and Sherry kept her arms wrapped around her father as he discussed something with his partner. Not long after that, Wesker was leaving. With her mother still grumbling on the phone, in the background, Sherry heard her father speak to her. Even fifteen years after his death, it made her heart skip remembering his voice so clearly.

"_Alright, sweetie, I better get you off to bed before mommy tans my hide!"_

She felt herself being picked up by him and saw a glance of the smile that he used to give her on one of the rare occasions when she got some much desired attention. Her father carried her all the way through the house to her bedroom upstairs. For a moment, the feeling of being carried was so real that Sherry thought that she was really back in this part of her life, like the whole fifteen years had been a dream…

Birkin's daughter awoke with a jolt, seeing a flash of her mutated father reaching out to grab her in the sewers beneath Raccoon City. She wasn't on the couch any longer, instead, she was in Jake's arms and he had just sat her down on her bed. So that's why it had felt so real - Jake really _had_ been carrying her.

She reached over instantly to turn on her lamp just beside her bed. Jake yelped, surprised by the sudden brightness. He went to move his arms out from under her and draw away, eyes clenched closed, but she grabbed his wrists before he could retreat.

"What are you doing?"

"Damn, warn me the next time you're gonna turn on the light like that! My eyes are more sensitive like this!"

"I told you I would sleep on the couch," Sherry stated.

"So? I thought I would bring you back in here. It sounded like you weren't having pleasant dreams in there."

Sherry blushed, looking away. "It's nothing…must have been all the stress from today."

Jake shrugged. "Okay then. I'll take the couch."

He went to leave once more, but she softly pulled him back. Her companion could have easily pulled out of her grasp with his normal strength, let alone his newfound power with the virus. He paused, looking from her hands to her face.

"Stay with me…"

Surprised by her request he hesitated at first, he then twitched his lips reassuringly for her. She didn't want to be alone right now, he understood that. Relieved, she turned the lamp out as he climbed into the other side of the bed.

Sherry immediately scooted over to where she could lay her head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling like crying but forced back the tears. _No more tears for today_, she huffed inside her thoughts – she had already cried herself empty when her best friend died before her eyes. Now was not the time to dwell on that though. For now, she was just happy and relieved to have him back. The dream about her past on the other hand - _that_ had affected her more than expected. Jake had to have sensed her feelings, because she felt his hand come onto her back, gently rubbing her.

"Everything's gonna be okay, super girl."

His words impacted her intensely. Her lips smiled in the dark, but she didn't move. Mind still rattled from her dream, she realized she had to tell Jake about how she knew his father. This whole time she never really had had a chance, but she couldn't keep holding the truth back from him. Whether he liked it or not that she had knew his father well in the past didn't matter. He deserved to know – the sooner the better.

"…Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"About your father…there's something…"

"Look, Sherry…I don't want to talk about any of that right now. With whatever hell of a dream you had in there, maybe it's best you just forget about it for now. We can talk about it later…when you feel better. Okay?"

Sherry grew quiet. Maybe he had a point. "Sorry…you're right. I just-"

She felt his lips touch her temple. "Sweet dreams, super girl."

* * *

**A/N: First and foremost, I originally was NOT going to have Alex in this story, since I had just used him in Illusion. However, I got a few PMs from people asking about him, and some asking about if Wesker and Jake were going to have a small team up and work together in this story. I really liked the idea, and a few had suggested it. So, thinking it over, I decided the easiest way, as well as the only person that could give father and son a decent challenge would be Alex...so wallah! Lol. His character is going to be different in this story compared to how I made him in Illusion, however. :) Okay, so I hope everyone is ready, because from here on out, things are going to heat up. I think I said this before lol, but REALLY. It's gonna happen I tell you! :O Want to give another shout out to my good buddy and Beta Reader who helped me with this chapter, thanks Ravenlaughter! Thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope everyone has a good week! I want to thank everyone who has faved/alerted/reviewed all month. Thank you for sticking with this story. Glad to know everyone is enjoying it as much as I am lol. ;)**


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